7/18/2013
Open houses, online meetings slated during next three weeks on replacement of three I-84 interchanges
BOISE – Next
week, the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) will hold the first of
three open houses to provide information on the replacement of three heavily traveled Treasure Valley interchanges on I-84. In addition, online public meetings also will be held to gather input.
On Wednesday (July 24), plans for the new Meridian Road Interchange will be available for public review and comment from 4 to 7 p.m. at Wahooz Family Fun Zone (1385 S. Blue Marlin Lane in Meridian). During the open house, attendees will have the opportunity to see the proposed single-point urban interchange design and speak with ITD project managers and staff.
Open houses also will be held to gather input on the new Gowen and Broadway interchanges. ITD will hold the Gowen Interchange open house on July 31 at the Boise Outlet Mall (6806 S. Eisenman Road in Boise) and the Broadway Interchange open house on August 7 at 2781 Broadway Ave. (in the Gateway Shopping Center near Shopko in Boise). Both events will run from 4 to 7 p.m.
Through a statewide evaluation process, the Meridian, Broadway and Gowen interchange replacement projects and widening of I-84 between Broadway and Gowen were chosen based on project readiness, pavement and structure conditions, congestion and safety factors. Construction is expected to begin in early 2014 and anticipated to be complete by fall 2015 on all three interchanges.
“When the projects are finished, I-84 will be completely widened from Franklin Road in Nampa to Gowen Road in Boise. These improvements will relieve congestion and enhance safety and traffic flow from one end of the Treasure Valley to the other,” said Amy Schroeder, ITD’s GARVEE Program Manager. “Rebuilding these three major interchanges has the potential to impact every driver in the region, so we want to inform and involve as many people as possible.”
Click here for video of an interview with Schroeder.
ITD is using a variety of methods to notify the community about the upcoming improvements to I-84, including online public meetings for each interchange. After each open house, the online meeting materials will be available on ITD’s website for two weeks at http://www.itd.idaho.gov/projects/garvee.
The online format allows people to view informative displays, listen to presentations and submit comments within their schedule. ITD’s project managers also will host several live online chat sessions where participants can ask questions, provide comments and receive responses to concerns. The dates and times of the online chat sessions are available on the project website.
Just as ITD does for many of its projects, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube will be used to keep the public informed and updated throughout the design and construction of the new interchanges. Social media has given ITD a new way to deliver news and publicize its transportation projects – it also gives the public an opportunity to provide real-time feedback.
“Providing information through a variety of communication channels allows ITD to reach out to a broader range of people that may be impacted by a project,” said Reed Hollinshead, Public Information Specialist for ITD.
Quick Response (QR) codes also are being printed on ITD mailers, fact sheets and brochures. The codes are scanned by smart phone users so they can be immediately directed to a website for more information.
“We recognize that the way people communicate is constantly changing,” Hollinshead said. “It’s important for ITD to keep up with shifts to new technology so we can continue to serve our customers.”
#####################
News directors, editors: For video footage of the Meridian Interchange, please visit the transportation department's FTP site at ftp1.idaho.gov. In the User Name field, enter itdcommu. The password is W39gy7D2. The file is titled Meridian Interchange VNR.