6/23/2010
Westbound off-ramp at Garrity to close Wednesday (June 30) night for God and Country rally at Idaho Center
BOISE - More than 10,000 people - perhaps twice that many - are expected at the God and Country rally Wednesday (June 30). It will be the largest event this year at the Idaho Center, with thousands in the amphitheater and thousands more watching the fireworks from outside.
To accommodate the number of travelers returning to the freeway and using local roads after the event concludes, the westbound I-84 off-ramp at Garrity will be closed starting at dusk that evening (about 10:15 p.m.). The closure will eliminate traffic entering Garrity from the freeway. That also will prevent the traffic signal at the interchange from impeding traffic that leaves the Idaho Center, and it will minimize northbound traffic on Idaho Center Boulevard. The off-ramp will re-open after traffic clears, which probably will be after midnight.
Click here to access a map of the traffic plan.
Westbound
traffic also will be limited to the inside lane between the off-ramp and the
on-ramp to allow a clear path for traffic leaving the Idaho Center needing to
go westbound on I-84.
Eastbound
traffic on I-84 will be limited to the inside lane between the off-ramp
and the on-ramp to allow a clear path for traffic leaving the Idaho Center
needing to go eastbound on I-84.
In
addition to these plans, the Nampa Police Department, with support from the
Idaho State Police, will have an extensive plan in place to assist traffic from the
Idaho Center parking lot as quickly as possible.
According
to the city of Nampa, when fireworks start, no northbound traffic will be
allowed through the Garrity underpass at I-84. Eastbound I-84 traffic using the
exit ramp at Garrity/Idaho Center Boulevard will only be able to turn right
(southbound) onto Garrity. Traffic coming from the Nampa Gateway Center will
have two options, either to go southbound on Happy Valley or north on Garrity
to access the I-84 on-ramp to Boise.
Police
officers will direct traffic coming out of the Idaho Center, and officers will flag traffic at the following intersections: E. Franklin Road and Star Road; Star Road
and Cherry Lane; Cherry Lane and 11th Avenue North; and 11th Avenue North and
Ridgecrest Drive.