7/28/2011
Menan-Lorenzo overpass on U.S. 20 north of Rigby to open Friday (July 29)
RIGBY - The Menan-Lorenzo overpass on U.S. 20 north of Rigby will open Friday (July 29), the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) announced.
Travel on U.S. 20 between Rigby and Thornton will be restored to a divided highway, with two lanes of traffic in each direction. ITD detoured two-way traffic on northbound ramps around the east side of the overpass in March.
The speed limit for through traffic will be restored to 65 mph, with temporary speed restrictions expected as work is finalized. Access to Bear World, the Lorenzo Boat Access and River Bridge Road, north of the interchange, will be fully restored next week.
ITD will not open on- and off-ramps at the interchange until next week, when the realigned Menan-Lorenzo Highway running beneath the overpass is paved and connected.
The new interchange includes both north and south entrances and exits to improve access onto and exit from both U.S. 20 and the Menan-Lorenzo Highway.
The full interchange construction project, including the realigned Menan-Lorenzo Highway, will be completed in mid-August. Crews will seed shoulders with grass and plant trees along stretches of the state right-of-way (property) in the fall.
"The new interchange will significantly improve traffic safety and flow on U.S. 20 between Rigby and Thornton," said ITD District 6 Engineer Blake Rindlisbacher. "We are pleased the project is nearing completion."
ITD permanently closed all direct accesses to U.S. 20 between Rigby and the Snake River last year. Closed were 600 North, 605 North, old Menan-Lorenzo Highway exit and Blue Heron Inn exit. Motorists now access areas east and west of U.S. 20 at the north Rigby interchange and, starting next week, at the Menan-Lorenzo interchange.
Eliminating direct access onto busy state highways improves highway safety by removing dangerous conflict points for through and local traffic.
Contractors for the $10 million highway improvement project were Western Construction Inc., of Boise, and HK Contractors Inc., of Idaho Falls.