BOISE -- The Idaho Transportation Board announced Friday crews will replace the Cloverdale Road overpass entirely, rather than repair the existing bridge damaged when flames erupted from a seven-vehicle wreck Saturday.
The ITD Board passed a resolution approving the replacement and allocating between $6 million and $8 million for the project.
The replacement bridge will have four travel lanes, standard shoulders, and pedestrian facilities, as well as improvements including a higher clearance over I-84. The overpass will also be built to accommodate a future expansion of I-84 to five lanes.
Board Member Julie DeLorenzo said the decision to replace the bridge rather than fix it made sense.
"Repairing the damage would have cost one to one-and-a-half million dollars," she said in a statement. "That investment on an aged bridge that is inadequate for today's traffic and pedestrian needs is not a good use of taxpayer funds."
ITD officials estimated it will be a year before the project is finished and the Cloverdale Road overpass is reopened. The department plans to present the project to the ACHD Board of Commissioners next week for their concurrence before moving forward.
The overpass was extensively damaged in a pileup on I-84 that killed three airmen stationed at Mountan Home Air Force Base and a semi truck driver from New York.
