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Idaho Transportation
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P.O. Box 7129
Boise, ID 83707
208.334.8005
Fax: 208.334.8563

 


Groundbreaking scheduled Tuesday for Ten Mile Interchange
(bring your own shovel)

A Tuesday (June 23) groundbreaking ceremony will formally launch construction of the new Ten Mile Interchange over Interstate 84 in Meridian. Construction of the new interchange is scheduled to begin in mid-July and be completed by May 2011.  It will help relieve congestion at the Meridian Road Interchange and improve access to the growing area west of Meridian Road.
 
The 3 p.m. ceremony, in the southeast corner of the existing Ten Mile overpass, will feature Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter, Senate Transportation Committee Chairman John McGee and Meridian Mayor Tammy de Weerd. ITD Board Chairman Darrel V Manning will serve as emcee.
 
The interchange project is expected to create more than 600 jobs, many of them for local workers. Staker and Parsons Companies, dba Idaho Sand & Gravel Co. (Nampa), is the apparent low bidder for the project that is funded through GARVEE (Grant Anticipation Revenue Vehicle) bonds. The bid of $33.8 million was opened June 9.
 
The new Ten Mile Overpass will span 200 feet across I-84 and will accommodate additional interstate lanes. On- and off-ramps will connect with Ten Mile Road, which will be widened from two to four lanes with sidewalks and bicycle lanes between Overland and Franklin roads.
 
A new design – similar to one planned for the I-84/Vista Interchange in Boise – will feature a Single Point Urban Interchange (SPUI). The design, new to Idaho, uses a single, centrally located traffic signal to control all turn movements on the overpass.  The I-84/Vista interchange will be in use less than a year before scheduled completion of the Ten Mile structure.
 
SPUIs have proven successful in other states, most recently Utah, to move traffic through the interchange safely and efficiently.
 
The Ten Mile Interchange will be the first new exit on Interstate 84 since the Karcher Interchange opened in 2006. Unlike previous interchanges, the Ten Mile Interchange was designed and advertised in less than three years, a significant accomplishment.
 
"It can require up to eight years to design a new interchange, gain environmental approval and begin construction," said ITD Director Pam Lowe. "For this process to be complete in less than three years is a credit to outstanding teamwork that included engineering and environmental staff and project consultants."
 
The accelerated project schedule was driven in part by the expansion of I-84. Construction began last spring on a third east- and westbound lane between the Garrity and Meridian interchanges. The first two miles of new lanes will open this summer.
 
H.W. Lochner Inc. was the prime designer for the project. Connecting Idaho Partners of Boise completed right-of-way purchases.
 
Although construction is funded by GARVEE bonds, the interchange also will use federal stimulus funds for landscaping.

Published 6-19-09