4/14/2011
Reed Hollinshead
ITD Communication
208-334-8881
reed.hollinshead@itd.idaho.gov
Eastbound I-84 reduced to one lane tonight from Franklin to Garrity
NAMPA - Eastbound Interstate 84 will be reduced to one lane tonight (Thursday, April 14) while crews move equipment as part of a project to widen the interstate between the Franklin Boulevard and Garrity interchanges.
The Idaho Transportation Department advises that traffic has shifted to the paved concrete median while crews construct the outside travel lanes.
Crews are constructing the off-ramps for both the eastbound Garrity and westbound Franklin off-ramps. Work is planned during daytime hours, and traffic will be shifted around the work zone. Similar work is planned for the westbound Garrity and eastbound Franklin on-ramps in late April and early May.
Other ongoing project activity includes construction of overhead sign structures, and abutments and retaining walls for the Union Pacific Railroad bridge. Construction of two new bridges over the UPRR and Phyllis Canal will accommodate the additional lanes on I-84.
Motorists can expect ongoing, intermittent nighttime lane closures for both east- and westbound traffic as crews work to complete the project by early summer 2012. All I-84 lanes remain open during the day.
Concrete Placing Company, of Boise, is the contractor on this $22.2 million project.
Once these interstate improvements are complete, I-84 between Franklin and Garrity will be widened to three lanes in both directions, with an additional auxiliary lane for eastbound traffic. The auxiliary lane will allow motorists to enter I-84 at Franklin, remain in the far right lane, and exit at Garrity without having to merge with interstate traffic.