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Eagle Road Improvements to Begin From I-84 to Franklin: Mostly Nighttime Construction Will Keep Traffic Flowing

Posted on: Tuesday, 7 March 2006, 12:00 CST

By Cynthia Sewell, The Idaho Statesman, Boise

Mar. 7--The first major project in the makeover of busy Eagle Road starts next week.

Idaho Transportation Department will begin widening northbound Eagle Road to three lanes between Interstate 84 and Franklin Road on March 16, a project expected to last until June.

Eagle Road is the state's busiest non-interstate road. Up to 50,000 vehicles a day travel the seven-mile stretch from Overland Road to Idaho 44/State Street.

State transportation officials propose a slew of changes to Eagle Road over the coming years, including new lanes, new dividers, new traffic signals and new bike paths.

Next week, a new lane is being added as a right-turn-only lane for St. Luke's Meridian -- just north of the Interstate -- and for eastbound Franklin Road. The new lane will allow northbound traffic to move more quickly off the freeway and through the Franklin intersection by not creating slowdowns behind right-turning cars.

Matt Bell is looking forward to the new turn lane.

Bell has worked at the St. Luke's Meridian center for almost four years and drives several times a week between his Meridian office and St. Luke's Boise center. He knows traffic exiting the freeway and heading north on Eagle must immediately slow down for cars turning right into St. Luke's, causing traffic to back onto the off-ramp.

"I'm glad to see the construction project get under way," he said. "The addition of the turn lane will help to ease congestion entering our campus. The construction phase will be a bit inconvenient but it will all be worth it because it will provide a safer entry into our facility."

The $1.4 million project will:

-- Widen northbound Eagle Road to three lanes between I-84 and Franklin Road. The outside lane will be a right-turn-only onto eastbound Franklin Road.

-- Construct a new, dedicated right-turn lane from Eagle Road to St. Luke's Street.

-- Improve safety and traffic flow by building a median barrier from I-84 to Franklin Road that will allow left turns at signalized intersections only.

-- Construct curb, gutter, sidewalk and storm-sewer drainage on the east side of Eagle Road from I-84 to Franklin Road.

For driver convenience, most construction will take place at night between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. and there will be no daytime lane restrictions, said Mollie McCarty, ITD spokeswoman. Commuters and nearby residents and businesses can learn more about the road project at a public meeting today.

The northbound Eagle Road widening is part of the Eagle Road Improvement Project, which ITD announced last summer. The project is intended to improve traffic flow, enhance safety for motorists, pedestrians and cyclists and visually enhance the roadway corridor on Eagle Road from I-84 to State Street. Over the next five years, ITD will install curb and gutter, add new traffic signals, build median barriers and install turn lanes, bus pullouts and bicycle/pedestrian pathways. The plan also calls for reducing the speed limit to 45 mph.

A traffic signal at Hobble Creek Drive was installed last summer.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Idaho Statesman, Boise

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Source: The Idaho Statesman, Boise

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