Welcome to the crazy days of May where one day it’s beautiful spring weather and the next day (usually a track meet or baseball game day), you’d swear winter is back! Ah, the wonders of spring in East Idaho.
Speaking of craziness, I’ve been warning you since January to plan alternate routes and/or give yourself more time to get around town this spring and summer because almost everywhere you go you run into road construction. I’ll answer some of the most common questions we get about that:
1. Why are we doing them all at once?
With our limited construction season, we must jump in and get things done as quickly as possible. We also want to get as many of our local streets done as we can before the hard closure of the Hwy 20 interchanges happens. That will cause even more traffic to be funneled to the streets that have been reconstructed. I’m pleased to see University Boulevard, Pioneer Road, and South Yellowstone resurfacing projects all done and re-opened. I think this is the earliest we have ever had that much road reconstruction done in Rexburg.
2. When will the interchanges close completely and how will that work?
The construction work on the south interchange is progressing well. After the construction work on the sides of the road is nearing completion and the Diverging Diamond (the new configuration of the road) is started, that interchange will be shut down completely and no traffic will be allowed through that interchange. If you live on the south end of town, you may want to consider going down to the Thornton interchange to cross over. If you live on the north end, you may want to go out to the North Interchange. The Main Street interchange already is and will become even more backed up in our heavy traffic times (morning and evening drive times). For more information on the timing of these closures, you can visit the ITD webpage.
3. Will there be construction and closure of the North Interchange?
Yes and no. A highway crew is in the process of installing traffic signals at this interchange now. This will make it much safer to get onto 2nd east from Hwy 20 during the busy times there. We hope to see those signals installed very soon. There will not be a closure of the North Interchange unless it is necessary for just a short time as they install the signals.
Our little “burg” has been discovered as a great place to live and raise a family and we are trying our best to keep up with and plan for the growth that is here and more coming. In all this wonderful craziness, please keep in mind the most important thing as we work (and drive) together…..”Love one another!”
Thank you for being great citizens! (Especially those of you who helped with the roadside cleanups)
Sincerely, Mayor Jerry Merrill
