4/12/2012
Reed Hollinshead
ITD Communication
208-334-8881
reed.hollinshead@itd.idaho.gov
This summer's Eagle Road resurfacing and medians project nears construction with naming of apparent low bidder
MERIDIAN - Another step was recently taken toward upgrading a portion of Eagle Road, as Idaho Sand & Gravel Co., of Nampa, was selected as the apparent low bidder on the project, which is likely to begin in early May. The low bid is $4.7 million.
During the next month, ITD will verify that the apparent low bid contractor is a properly licensed contractor and possesses a surety bond to protect taxpayers and the department. Once that has been verified, the contractor can schedule the beginning of work. It is expected to begin in early summer and finish before the end of 2012, likely by mid-November.
The section from Fairview Avenue in Meridian to State Street in Eagle will be resurfaced, and raised medians will be installed from Franklin Road to Oakhampton Drive, just north of Chinden Boulevard. Raised medians will also be added east on Chinden at the intersection with Eagle Road to the Target entrance.
In accordance with input from the community of Eagle, no raised medians will be installed on Eagle Road from Oakhampton (one-half mile north of Chinden) to East Riverside Drive (just south of State Street).
For more information about the project, please check the Eagle Road Improvement Project page on ITD's project websitesite at: http://itd.idaho.gov/Projects/D3/eagle-road-improvement
The project will preserve the highway’s surface. Studies show Eagle Road traffic will double north of Chinden over the next 15-20 years.
The preservation project will remove and replace the top layer of asphalt, and will provide raised medians where supported.
All improvements to state highways balance the needs of improving safety, enhancing mobility and supporting economic vitality.
“The highway overlay will extend the life of the road, which is a benefit to taxpayers, and the proposed medians are a needed and important improvement,” said ITD’s Wade Christiansen, project manager.
“Ultimately, the medians will result in the greatest increase in safety and mobility. The raised medians are designed to prevent many left-turning movements that are negatively impacting both public safety and traffic mobility throughout the Eagle Road corridor, which in turn is proving to be detrimental to both regional and local commerce,” he explained.
“Given the continuing increase in traffic on Eagle Road, the left-turn conflicts would certainly increase without the medians,” he said, “further degrading safety and mobility.”
Studies show that the installation of raised medians profoundly decrease the number of crashes, particularly the most severe types such as head-on and sideswipe accidents. Additionally, the medians allow those who need to turn left to do so by making a much safer U-turn at specific locations - primarily signalized intersections. U-turns are significantly safer because they can be done while there is no opposing traffic or when there are breaks in the opposing traffic.