CANYON COUNTY, Idaho — Changes are being planned for a busy stretch of Interstate 84 in Canyon County, and the Idaho Transportation Department says the public will play a role in shaping what happens next.
ITD is studying improvements along I-84 between Exit 27 at Centennial Way and Exit 25 at State Highway 44, including widening the interstate to three lanes and upgrading interchanges that date back to the original construction of the interstate.
WATCH: Drivers share feedback as ITD considers widening I-84 in Canyon County
Judy Hudson, who has lived in the Treasure Valley for nearly three decades and is preparing to move to Middleton, attended a recent ITD open house to weigh in on the plans.
“It’s inevitable because the population around here is just exploding. We just have to put up with it, but I appreciate it whenever they consider the needs of the community,” Hudson said.
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Hudson said traffic conditions around the Highway 30 and State Highway 44 interchange are already challenging.
“It’s horrible. I do everything I can to avoid the Highway 30 and 44 interchange because it’s really hard to make a left-hand turn,” she said.
ITD officials say concerns like Hudson’s are part of why the corridor is being studied. Vincent Trimboli, a transportation program manager with ITD, said the agency relies heavily on public input during the planning process.
“We think we understand the big picture, but people here give us local knowledge – little pieces of the puzzle that we don’t always know,” Trimboli said.
Trimboli said the interchanges in the project area were built decades ago and no longer meet today’s traffic demands. He added that feedback gathered at public meetings can directly influence how projects are designed.
“When you do these projects, it impacts people’s property. A lot of times they come and tell us what those impacts might be,” he said.
Some of the proposed changes, including new traffic signals at the State Highway 44 interchange, stood out to Hudson as a step in the right direction.
“I was really tickled about the plans at the 44 exits — that there’s going to be a stoplight at Highway 30 and 44 and stoplights on the on-ramps and off-ramps so they’ll be able to manage those peak traffic times,” Hudson said.
ITD says the project is still in the planning and environmental review phase, and construction timelines will depend on future funding. Public comments on the proposed improvements are still being accepted online.
