7/12/2011
Reed Hollinshead
ITD Communication
208-334-8881
reed.hollinshead@itd.idaho.gov
Fourth eastbound lane to open on I-84 between Garrity and Meridian this week
MERIDIAN – The morning commute will get a little easier this week for thousands of drivers on Interstate 84. The Idaho Transportation Department announced today it will open a fourth eastbound lane in the heavily traveled interstate corridor between Garrity and Meridian.
The new eastbound lane is expected to open by 5 a.m. Wednesday morning (July 13). Eastbound I-84 will be restricted to two lanes from 10 tonight to 5 a.m. Wednesday while crews prepare to open the new lane.
The new lane will begin at the Garrity eastbound on-ramp and continue to the Meridian eastbound off-ramp. Eastbound I-84 is already four lanes wide east of the Meridian Interchange.
ITD plans to open a fourth westbound lane by late July or early August. In the meantime, westbound I-84 will be reduced to two lanes under the Ten Mile Interchange for paving.
I-84 was expanded to three lanes between the Garrity and Meridian interchanges in 2009.
The expansion is one of 13 major projects to modernize I-84 from Nampa to east Boise. The I-84 projects were funded through the GARVEE Transportation Program, which uses Grant Anticipation Revenue Vehicle (GARVEE) bonds to expedite interstate improvements.
GARVEE-funded projects have included building the new Ten Mile Interchange, rebuilding the Garrity Interchange bridges, and widening I-84 in Boise and Nampa.