BOISE, Idaho — The 8th Street Improvement Project in downtown Boise is running three weeks behind its original timeline, and crews are tearing up sections of concrete that were just poured.
But, as Idaho News 6 found out on Monday, that's not the reason the project is behind schedule.
WATCH | We went to the City of Boise to find out when you can expect the construction to clear up:
Maria Ortega, a spokesperson with the City of Boise's Planning and Development team, said some of the torn-up concrete did not meet quality standards, so the contractor will replace it at no additional cost to the city.
The project is designed to make the car-free corridor safer and more accessible for people walking and biking. But crews discovered unexpected conflicts with underground utilities, which Ortega says required changes to the project's design.
"We also identified opportunities to upgrade building connections to geothermal services once we exposed and evaluated existing conditions," Ortega said in a statement. "As a result, we determined that completing these improvements now, although extending the timeline for this block, would help avoid more significant disruption in the future."
Sadie Peacock, a manager at Cotopaxi on 8th Street, said the prolonged construction has kept customers away.
"It's super loud, and we'll have customers come and be like, 'Oh my gosh, this construction is crazy!'" Peacock said. "People don't really want to be down here with all the noise, so it's just traffic overall, it's just so low downtown."
The city said the contractor has added more crews to help finish the remaining work faster. The city anticipates a majority of the block will reopen on September 25.
"We recognize the impact this project has had on businesses, neighbors and visitors and understand the importance of getting this section of 8th Street safely reopened as quickly as possible," Ortega said.
Peacock said she is hopeful the finished project will be worth the wait.
"Once this is all packed up, I mean, people are going to enjoy it, but the effects that we feel right now aren't great," she said.
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been, in part, converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
