4/6/2011
I-84/I-86 to come to rolling traffic stop Thursday and all next week
BURLEY - Traffic will come to a rolling standstill on Interstates 84 and 86 on Thursday (April 7) and every day next week for a short period of time to allow for rock blasting as part of an I-86 repaving project, the Idaho Transportation Department announced.
A rolling traffic stop will be used to slow traffic beginning at the Heyburn Interchange (I-84. Exit 211) and at the Raft River Interchange (I-86, Exit 15) for a short time each afternoon. When crews are prepared for the blast, traffic in both directions will be slowed to 35 mph by pilot vehicles and will remain at a reduced speed until reaching the blast zone near milepost 4 on I-86. Traffic continuing east on I-84 will be allowed to continue unabated after the junction.
The blast is expected to take place between 4 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. Crews will be on hand to clear the travel lanes of debris. Following the blast and after a safe roadway is assured, pilot vehicles will return traffic to highway speeds before exiting at either end of the construction zone. There is potential for a longer traffic delay due to excessive debris on the roadway, but the length of delay will not be known until after the blast occurs.
Successive rock blasts are scheduled for the same time each day next week (April 11-14), but the rolling traffic stops will begin further east and later affect only I-86 traffic. Crews are blasting sections of exposed rock within the clear zone along I-86 as part of an $11 million repaving project of the eastbound lanes of I-86. The rock removal is expected to increase safety along the roadway.
Traffic is already reduced to one lane in each direction and a 65-mph speed zone is being observed during regular work hours. The project, being completed by Knife River Corporation Northwest of Boise, is expected to be finished in July.