The arrival of spring means more than rising temperatures. It also means optimal conditions for building. Across the Treasure Valley, the Ada County Highway District is launching numerous projects in what it says is a record-setting construction season.
Throughout Ada County, ACHD is working on over 90 projects to the tune of $61 million.
“We’ve kind of dubbed it ‘Construction-mageddon, 2018,’” jokes Craig Quintana. He’s ACHD’s chief communications officer.
Quintana says the boom of roadwork is the manifestation of all the growth the Treasure Valley has undergone over the past few years. Regularly monitoring traffic flows at major intersections and long-range plans from cities help the agency prioritize where and when to build.
Taking up over 10 percent of that $61 million construction budget is the revamp of the State Street and Veterans Memorial Parkway intersection.
“At rush hour, we’re close to 5,000 trips, which is a bunch,” he says.
It’s someplace we’ve all probably been stuck. ACHD plans to cut wait times at the intersection with something called a “ThrU-turn.”
“So what we’re doing is we’re taking out some of the left-hand turns,” Quintana says. “Instead of making that left turn, people will actually go through the intersection, make a U-turn, and then come back and hang a right. It sounds like a lot of out-of-direction travel; it’s actually going to flow much better.”
Work at the State Street intersection is set to finish up around the end of October.
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