ITD will use $14 million to repave pothole-riddled I-84 in Nampa

The Idaho Transportation Department has accelerated the repair of Interstate 84 between Franklin Road and Karcher Road in Nampa and Caldwell to sometime this year, rather than the original scheduled 2018.

The Idaho Transportation Board on Jan. 18 approved $14 million to fast-track the repaving project to address the problem of potholes ravaging the freeway surface east of Franklin Road early in the week of Jan. 9.

“We have many different ways of rating roadways, but the most basic is a four-tier rating: good, fair, poor, very poor,” ITD spokesman Jake Melder said. ”Our district staff rates this stretch as very poor.”

By Jan. 11, ITD had crews out filling potholes in the westbound lanes. The temporary fix has been completed on westbound lanes but not yet on the eastbound lanes, Melder said.

ITD got started on the eastbound lanes Jan. 17 but suspended work the next day due to snow after completing the stretch between milepost 29 (Franklin Road) and milepost 31.

“All the repairs we are doing now are short-term fixes because it is so cold,” said Melder, adding that long-term fixes require temperatures above about 50 degrees. “These are short-term fixes to make the road passable.”

A schedule has not been determined for the repaving from Franklin Road to Karcher Road (MP 33). ITD also wants to repave I-84 from Karcher Road to Franklin Boulevard (MP 36) at a later date, Melder said.

The I-84 stretch between Nampa and Caldwell has undergone pothole repairs each of the past four years to the tune of $28,800 in 2013, $108,102 in 2014, $63,184 in 2015, $23,702 in 2016 and $23,892 through Jan. 19 in 2017, Melder said.

ITD has also done I-18 overlay repairs in 2014 for $272,509, in 2015 for $244,981 and in 2016 for $420,447. Overlays are more than pothole patches but less than the mill and repaving that will be done this year, Melder said.