5/7/2010
Reed Hollinshead
ITD Communication
208-334-8881
reed.hollinshead@itd.idaho.gov
Southwest Idaho highway construction report for May 7-14
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.
Airport
Way will be reduced to one lane in each direction until mid-June. Flaggers will direct
traffic while crews work.
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 the 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.
Crews
are continuing to work on the storm sewer along Tasa Drive near the
construction site for the new Ten Mile Interchange.
Beginning
Wednesday and Thursday (May 12-13) from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., Tasa Drive will be
reduced to one lane. Flaggers will direct traffic during the closure.
Ten
Mile Road is closed between Franklin and Overland roads during construction.
The
$33.8 million 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 continues. 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.
Garrity Boulevard will close under the freeway bridge overnight Sunday (May 9) for the placement of bridge girders. Access to I-84 on- and off- ramps will remain open during the overnight closure (10 p.m. Sunday to 5 a.m. Monday). However, vehicles will not be able to travel beneath the I-84 Garrity Interchange bridge. Motorists planning to use Garrity are encouraged to use Stamm Lane, Robinson Road and Franklin Road as alternate routes.
In addition, ITD advises motorists to expect Garrity to be reduced to one lane in each direction at night starting Monday (May 10) near the interchange while crews work on the bridge deck.
The lanes will be restricted overnight between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. Two lanes southbound and one lane northbound will be open by the morning commute and during the day. Overnight restrictions are not expected to occur on Friday or Saturday nights. Lane restrictions are expected to continue for the next few weeks until the bridge work is completed.
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 the existing westbound bridge and build a 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 the existing eastbound bridge and build a 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
A three-month resurfacing project on heavily traveled Eagle Road (Idaho 55) got under way May 2. Phase one of the project, which will last approximately two more 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 speed limit is reduced to 35 mph.
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 pavement rehabilitation will extend about 250 feet south of the eastbound ramps toward Overland Road.
The second phase of the project will be 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 and right turns out, left turns in
Commercial Street and all other approaches except Pine Avenue (which remains unchanged):
- Prohibited: Left turns in and left turns out
- Allowed: Right turns in and 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 eight. This project encompasses three of them. ITD statistics show that only the Flying Wye (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 and 21st reconstruction
Closures and lane shifts continue as crews improve Franklin Road and 21st Avenue. The Franklin/21st Avenue intersection is about one-quarter mile west of the newly-reconstructed Franklin Road Interchange (Exit 29).
Franklin is 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. Businesses on Franklin can be accessed via Chicago.
Traffic remains shifted to the east on Specht Avenue to allow excavation of the west half of the roadway. One lane in each direction is open to motorists.
Commercial Way between Specht and Franklin is closed to through traffic for excavation and the installation of a new signal at the Franklin/21st Ave intersection.
The project will improve sight distance and safety on 21st Avenue. The project also includes 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 - Main Street resurfacing
Work is under way on a project to resurface and improve a mile of Main Street in Emmett.
This project, from the intersection of Boise Avenue to the intersection of Washington Street (Idaho 52), includes pavement rehabilitation to remove excessive rutting and cracking, with pothole repair and slope work included for proper drainage. Sidewalks also will be replaced, maintaining the current 11-foot width, along with curb and gutter work.
Lighting and adjustments to the traffic signal at the intersection of Main and Washington also will be included.
Initial work included pulverizing the existing pavement and saw cutting for the city to coordinate service connection work to the water line. Work this week (May 3-7) included installation of the water services on the North side of the roadway.
WF Construction & Sales LLC of Meridian is the contractor on this $475,000 project.
The city of Emmett is the local sponsor for this 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. However, regularly planned work is expected to resume today (Friday, May 7).
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 is under way. 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.
Traffic may be switched by Monday (May 10). Eastbound traffic will be moved to the north side.
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.
Crews paved this week (May 3-7) and still have seeding and planting to complete.
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 - that one 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.