BOISE, Idaho — On June 16, 2018, four people, including three Mountain Home airmen, were killed in a fiery crash on Interstate 84, under the Cloverdale Road overpass. The seven-car crash, which included two semi-trucks, caused severe damage to the overpass.
The overpass has been closed since. Earlier this year, the overpass was demolished to make way for a larger, upgraded overpass.
The Idaho Transportation Department says they've managed to complete the project in a year, compared to three to four years that projects like this take. To do so, crews have worked night and day to finish it quickly.
KTVB was shown the progress of the construction by ITD on Friday when crews were digging up last minute trenches on the bridge.
While the whole overpass won't open until September, commuters will soon be able to start using it sooner than expected.
"What's really exciting for us is we're going to be opening a lane in each direction over the overpass by June 15th," Jake Melder, a spokesperson for ITD, said.
Once completed, the overpass will double in size and include features that the previous overpass did not.
"The finished project is going to be two lanes in each direction, over the bridge it's going to be two lanes, there will be a fifth lane down the road section, a shared center turn lane and then we're also going to have a really excellent bicycle-pedestrian facilities, that are going to be on the bridge and on the roadway itself," Melder said.
For some Boise residents, the opening of the overpass will save them time on their commutes.
Sisha Lamprecht used to use the Cloverdale overpass to get her kids to school, now she has drive further around town to do so.
"Since it's been closed, I have to go all the way around through Five Mile, so it's added a huge commute onto my times in the morning," she said. "It'll definitely cut my commute down by at least 20 minutes. Which is going to be really nice."