I-84 MERIDIAN TO GARRITY WORK DEDICATED
GOVERNOR APPLAUDS IMPROVED SAFETY, BETTER FLOW OF COMMERCE

(NAMPA) – Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter said today that a wider Interstate 84 between Meridian and Nampa’s Garrity Boulevard will give tens of thousands of daily commuters a quicker, safer route while reducing air pollution from backed-up traffic and creating a more efficient and inviting corridor of commerce.

“It’s a great day! Finally we’re turning this twice-a-day, six-and-a-half-mile-long parking lot into a real highway again,” Governor Otter said at a dedication ceremony for the completed project. “Now it’s going to be the kind of route that families and businesses won’t go out of their way to avoid; it will be the kind of highway that attracts businesses, career-path jobs and economic opportunities.”

Finding sustainable, long-term ways to address Idaho’s huge and growing backlog of road and bridge maintenance, repair and improvement needs is a key element of Governor Otter’s Project 60 initiative – a comprehensive, coordinated statewide effort to create jobs and economic opportunity.

Completing the Meridian Road-to-Garrity Boulevard project, on Idaho’s most-traveled section of I-84, marks a major milestone in the GARVEE Transportation Program. Adding a third lane in each direction to the 6.5-mile section of interstate greatly improves the transportation link between growing commercial centers in Meridian and Nampa.

I-84 at Garrity in Nampa is the site of a number of major employers, including the Idaho Center, Walmart, Boise State University’s West Campus and the College of Western Idaho. Mercy North Medical Center and the 100-acre Nampa Gateway Center with a number of large retailers also are there.

At I-84 and Meridian Road in Meridian, the Central Valley Corporate Park is home to United Heritage, MWI Veterinary and Home Depot, and headquarters for the Meridian School District – Idaho’s largest – as well as Idaho State University’s Treasure Valley campus.

Governor Otter said it is essential to provide safe, efficient highways and bridges in order to maintain and build on the resources Idahoans need to create opportunities for their children and grandchildren.
“Our communities are only as strong as our ability to bring people, products and ideas together, through technology and infrastructure. Completing this stretch of interstate shows our commitment to that goal.”

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