Idaho

Transportation Department

4/30/2010






Southwest Idaho highway construction report for April 30-May 7

BOISE - The following projects are part of the GARVEE Transportation Program in southwest Idaho, which uses funds from Grant Anticipation Revenue Vehicle (GARVEE) bonds to expedite highway projects.

 

BOISE - Interstate 84, Vista Avenue Interchange Reconstruction*

Work is under way to rebuild the Vista Avenue Interchange to reduce congestion and accommodate future I-84 lanes.

 

On Monday night (May 3), flaggers will direct traffic through the Vista Avenue/Airport Way Intersection while ITD adjusts traffic signals. Flagging will begin at 9 p.m.

 

Traffic has been switched onto the new Single Point Urban Interchange on- and off-ramps. Traffic will continue to use temporary signals until the Single Point Urban Interchange is completed later this summer.

 

Motorists are advised to remain cautious while work continues at the Vista Interchange.

 

The speed limit on I-84 is 55 mph and shoulders are restricted in the project area. The speed limit on Vista Avenue is 25 mph. ITD advises motorists to be cautious of trucks and equipment.

 

Construction on the $17.8 million project is expected to be complete in late summer 2010.

 

* Design for the project was funded by GARVEE, but project construction is funded through the federal stimulus program, created to generate jobs and help boost Idaho's economy while upgrading our foundation for future economic growth.

 

BOISE - Interstate 84, Cole Road to Broadway Avenue widening

ITD is rebuilding and widening east- and westbound I-84 between the Cole and Broadway interchanges in Boise. When complete, the interstate will have four lanes in each direction.

 

Between the Cole and Broadway interchanges, one east- and westbound lane will be closed in both directions overnight (10 p.m. to 5 a.m. on week nights, and 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. on weekends) through mid-May.

 

Crews will patch and widen the shoulders, place guardrail and pour concrete in the median during the closures.

 

This $35.9 million project is expected to be complete in summer 2011.

 

MERIDIAN - Interstate 84, Ten Mile Interchange construction

Work continues on a project to construct a new interchange with on- and off-ramps at Ten Mile Road. The project will include widening I-84 between Black Cat and Ten Mile roads.

 

Ten Mile Road is closed between Franklin and Overland roads during construction.

 

The $33.8 million Ten Mile Interchange project is expected to be complete in summer 2011.

   

NAMPA - Interstate 84, Garrity Interchange Bridge reconstruction

Construction on the I-84 Garrity Interchange improvement project enters its fifth month. The project will remove two bridges on I-84 at the Garrity Interchange and replace them with a single bridge that will accommodate three lanes in each direction on the interstate.

 

Work also includes reconstructing the interstate about a mile east of the interchange to tie into the widening of I-84 between the Garrity and Meridian interchanges, and removing the bridge piers in the roadway at Garrity Boulevard.

 

This project is part of ITD's plans to improve I-84 between the Franklin and Garrity interchanges in Nampa.

 

The completed improvements will include three lanes in each direction from the Franklin to Garrity interchanges, and four lanes in each direction from the Garrity to Meridian interchanges.

 

The project is being constructed in three stages:

 

Stage 1 - Build the median section of the bridge between the existing bridges. Traffic will remain on existing bridges, with two lanes open in each direction.

Stage 2 - Remove existing westbound bridge and build new westbound portion of bridge. Westbound traffic will be moved onto the new median section. Two lanes will remain open in each direction.

Stage 3 - Remove existing eastbound bridge and build new eastbound portion of bridge. Westbound traffic will be shifted onto the new westbound portion of the bridge, and eastbound traffic onto the median section.

Completion - By summer 2011, three lanes will be open in each direction over the bridge, eventually connecting with a fourth lane in each direction east of the interchange.

 

Concrete Placing Co. Inc. of Boise is the contractor of the $15 million project.

 

 

Following is an update on non-GARVEE state highway construction projects in southwest Idaho.

 

ADA COUNTY

MERIDIAN -  Eagle Road resurfacing, with medians

Starting overnight Sunday (May 2), the Idaho Transportation Department will begin a three-month resurfacing project on heavily traveled Eagle Road (Idaho 55). Phase one of the project, which will last approximately three weeks, begins at the eastbound ramps of Interstate 84 and continues north to Franklin Road.

 

Crews will work a Sunday through Thursday, 8 p.m to 6 a.m. overnight schedule to minimize inconvenience for drivers. Two lanes each way, with turn bays, will be maintained at all other times.

 

The top few inches of pavement will be milled off the surface and replaced. No work on the interchange bridge itself will take place, but the pavement rehabilitation will extend about 250 feet south of the eastbound ramps toward Overland Road.

 

The second phase of the project will be the installation of raised medians from Franklin Road to Fairview Avenue, which will take approximately one month to complete. This work is unlikely to start until July. The medians restrict left turns at the following locations:

 

Lanark Street, Presidential Drive, Florence Drive:

- Prohibited: Left turns out

- Allowed: Right turns in & right turns out, left turns in

 

Commercial Street and all other approaches except Pine Avenue (which remains unchanged):

 - Prohibited: Left turns in & left turns out

 - Allowed: Right turns in & right turns out

 

Local law enforcement, the city of Meridian and ITD support the use of medians to control access and as a safety enhancement measure along this corridor. From Franklin north to Fairview, there have been 586 reported crashes in the last five years, resulting in 356 injuries and two fatalities.

The medians also will reinforce the fact that Eagle Road is a State Highway intended as a mobility corridor rather than a local street.

 

The final phase of the project is the resurfacing of Franklin Road to Fairview Avenue, and will take approximately three weeks to complete.

 

According to the Ada County Highway District (ACHD), the intersection of Eagle and Fairview is the busiest intersection in Ada County and the state. Four intersections on Eagle Road are in ACHD's top 8. This project encompasses three of them. ITD statistics show that only the Flying Why (134,500) is busier than the 132,500 vehicles the Eagle Road Interchange sees every day.

 

ITD initiated the Eagle Road Arterial Study in 2003. Local municipalities, ACHD, the Community Action Partnership of Southwest Idaho, homeowners associations and ValleyRide were all involved in the initial study. This project is largely a result of those initial meetings, and reflects a need to increase safety and desire to manage traffic more efficiently. Central Paving Co. Inc. of Boise is the contractor on the $1.35 million project.

 

CANYON COUNTY

CALDWELL - Franklin & 21st reconstruction

Traffic was shifted Wednesday (April 28) on Specht Avenue, allowing crews to work in the area. One lane in each direction is open to motorists. Traffic to be shifted east for two weeks, then west for one. Starting Thursday (April 29), 21st Avenue will be closed to eastbound traffic as construction of the roadway is completed. 21st Avenue will reopen to traffic today (Friday, April 30).

 

Franklin Road remains closed while the roadway is reconstructed and realigned to match up with the new five-lane roadway constructed last summer.  Motorists are detoured to 21st and Chicago. The detour will be in place through this summer, when work at the intersection concludes. Businesses on Franklin can be accessed via Chicago.

 

Commercial Way between Specht Avenue and Franklin is also closed to through traffic while crews work to align Commercial way with the new Franklin alignment and install a new signal at the Franklin & 21st Ave intersection. The Franklin-21st Avenue intersection is about one-quarter mile west of the newly-reconstructed Franklin Road Interchange (Exit 29).

 

The project will improve sight distance and safety on 21st Avenue. The project also includes excavation, new asphalt pavement, curb and gutter, sidewalk and lighting.

 

The first phase of this project, about a quarter-mile section of 21st Avenue, was rebuilt last summer. The three-lane roadway was widened to five lanes.

 

Work on this phase is scheduled for completion in September.

 

Central Paving Co. of Boise is the contractor on this $1.66 million project. Central Paving also was the contractor on the first phase of the project last summer.

 

GEM COUNTY

EMMETT - Bishop Road Bridge project for Farmers Co-op Canal

A project to build a detour over the Farmers Co-op Canal on the east side of the existing bridge off Idaho 52 is nearly complete. A new bridge has been constructed, with a new intersection at Bishop Road and Bishop and Bill Burns Road next to the canal.

The project is south of the intersection of Dewey and Bishop roads.

 

Grass re-seeding should be a one-day activity, but may not happen for another week.

Idaho Sand & Gravel of Nampa is the contractor on the $622,000 project. Gem County is the local sponsor, also participating financially in the project.

 

ELMORE COUNTY

SOUTHWEST OF MOUNTAIN HOME - Road to C.J. Strike Reservoir paving

The Dam Cutoff Road carrying recreational traffic to the C.J. Strike Reservoir area in Elmore County is being paved in a project now under way.

 

Some of the initial planned work has been delayed while right-of-way issues are worked out with the Bureau of Land Management. In the meantime, the contractor has shifted efforts to other necessary activities within the project - moving materials, primarily.

 

The road will be closed during construction, which is expected to finish this fall.

 

This route is one way to get to C.J. Strike, but possibly the least-common route. However, the improvements will make it a more desirable route, and will shorten the trip from Mountain Home to the dam.

 

The Strike Dam Cutoff Road currently is a two-lane unpaved rural route in rolling terrain. The project begins at the junction of Idaho 67 and extends about one-quarter mile north of the C.J. Strike Dam, from about milepost 100 to 107.

 

The paving is designed to provide a safer route, and save on annual maintenance costs.

 

Western Construction Inc. of Boise is the contractor on the $1.86 million project.

 

This project is locally sponsored by the Mountain Home Highway District.

 

PAYETTE COUNTY

WEST OF CALDWELL - I-84 resurfacing, Black Canyon to Sand Hollow

The pavement resurfacing and repair project on I-84 west of Caldwell began Monday (April 26). The project, funded through stimulus savings, will treat the roadway surface beginning west of the Black Canyon Interchange and extending for five miles, to east of the Sand Hollow Interchange.

 

Initial work, through mid-May, is expected to focus on median crossovers. During this work, the speed limit will be reduced to 55 mph, and drivers may experience left-lane closures. During the majority of the work, only one interstate lane will be open in both directions. 

 

The project is expected to be complete this fall.

 

Several badly damaged concrete slabs in that stretch will be removed and replaced. Repairs also will include resealing pavement joints, repairing pavement cracks and chips, grinding portions off of the existing pavement surface and completing guardrail safety improvements. Work will start in the eastbound lanes (through July), then turn around and come back westbound.

 

A highly competitive construction environment led to significant savings on the eight original projects funded by the federal stimulus program ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act). This is one of nine smaller projects financed through those initial bid savings.

 

Multiple Concrete Enterprises of Ogden, Utah, is the contractor on the $6.9 million project.

 

WASHINGTON COUNTY

WEISER - Snake River Bridge replacement

The Snake River Bridge on the U.S. 95 Spur in Weiser is being replaced with a wider structure. The bridge connects Annex, Ore., to Weiser.

 

Rain has prevented the contractor from paving thus far; weather permitting, it is scheduled to begin Monday (May 3).

The original bridge was built in 1903, with an additional span added in 1911. Traffic signals were added in 1949. The bridge was replaced in the 1950s - and is being replaced in this project. Once completed, the bridge will be 16 feet wider and able to carry greater traffic volumes. The highway on both sides of the bridge also will be reconstructed.

New curb, gutter and sidewalks are being reconstructed on the Idaho side of the bridge.

The speed limit is reduced to 25 mph on the Oregon side of the bridge.

Sletten Construction of Boise is the contractor on this $10 million project. The project will extend into May 2010.


ITD and the Idaho State Police caution motorists to slow down and pay attention when driving in work zones, where increased speeding fines and other penalties apply. Motorists are encouraged to plan ahead and dial 5-1-1 or visit 511.idaho.gov for information on the state highway or interstate system.