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Ceremony marks formal beginning of
Interstate 84/Vista reconstruction

Governor C.L. "Butch" Otter joined area business and civic leaders recently to launch a project that will reconstruct the Interstate 84/Vista Interchange in Boise, improve safety, reduce congestion and create or sustain more than 320 jobs.

More than 100 people attended the ceremony and participated in the groundbreaking.

"Vista is the gateway to the airport, downtown, the Capitol and Boise State University," Governor Otter said. "A modern, safe interchange will position the entire Treasure Valley for further economic growth and prosperity."

State Senate Transportation Committee Chairman John McGee emceed the event.

Since 342,000 people a month pass through the Boise Airport, improving the Vista Interchange is a critical step in upgrading I-84.

"I have had the privilege of attending similar events at the Franklin Interchange in Caldwell, the Karcher Interchange in Nampa, the 10-Mile Interchange in Meridian, and now Vista," said McGee. "Each project is bringing us closer to a safer, less congested and modernized interstate and a brighter future."

The new interchange will be the first in Idaho to use a single point urban design. The design has a single traffic light at the center of the interchange to allow a more continuous, efficient flow of traffic.

The replacement of the 40-year-old Vista Interchange is the seventh of 10 planned projects to widen and modernize I-84 from Nampa to east Boise. The first project, which started in 2007, lengthened and widened the Eagle Road westbound off-ramp. The last project will widen the interstate between Franklin and Garrity boulevards from two lanes in each direction to three lanes and is planned to be complete in fall 2012.

The I-84/Vista Interchange will be complete in September 2010. Central Paving Co. of Boise submitted the winning construction bid of $17.8 million.