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Interstate 84/Vista interchange wins engineering award

The accolades keep mounting for the reconstruction project at the I-84, Vista Interchange in Boise.

The American Society of Civil Engineers (Southern Idaho Chapter) awarded Stanley Consultants, the group that designed Vista, with the Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement award April 27. It was the fourth award for the project.

The honor was not only for the design, but also for meeting the logistical challenges of the project.

'We felt that the design effort put forth by Stanley Consultants on the I-84 Vista Avenue Project was exceptional. So much so in fact, that the ITD GARVEE Office and our consultant program manager, Connecting Idaho Partners, saw fit to jointly present them with an award for their efforts. I wish we had cause to give such awards out on a more frequent basis, but to date, Stanley’s effort stands without equal.'

– Jason Brinkman, commenting on Vista’s ITD/CIP Performance award

The project is rebuilding the Vista Interchange (the bridge was built in 1969) with a Single Point Urban Interchange (SPUI) design. That design places a traffic light at the center of the interstate bridge and allows for protected left turns in each direction. The new interchange will have two through lanes in each direction and dual left-turn lanes. On- and off-ramps will be widened and lengthened to improve traffic flow. The new bridge also will accommodate the expansion of I-84.

The Vista Interchange is vital to Idaho’s economy, providing access to and from the Boise Airport. Improving the interchange will add the capacity required to meet growing commuter, business and airport demand through 2035.

Fewer traffic lights and twice as many turn lanes mean the SPUI can move a greater number of cars through the interchange more quickly and address future growth. The old “diamond” interchange design at Vista was a “Level of Service” of D; by 2035, given projected traffic volumes, it would have been failing. The new SPUI design will be a Level of Service C, a rating that will continue even with the traffic volume increases.

Work on the project started in July 2009 and is expected to conclude late this summer.

“I have designed SPUIs before; that wasn’t the main challenge,” explained Bob Jacobs, project manager for Stanley Consultants. “The challenging aspect was doing it in nine months, while still meeting project milestones. That’s unheard of.”

ITD’s District 3 design on Vista was started by Sue Sullivan and finished by Wade Christiansen. Jason Brinkman, GARVEE Program Manager, also was key to the project.

Jacobs also said cooperation among design team members, Connecting Idaho Partners, ITD, the Ada County Highway District, the city of Boise, and the Boise International Airport “made possible the rapid delivery of this quality project.”

In addition to receiving the ASCE award, interchange project received the Women in Transportation Society (Treasure Valley Chapter) Innovative Engineering Solutions Award, the ITD/CIP Performance Award, and the ITD 2010 Excellence in Construction Award.