Thornton Interchange set to be completed in time for winter - East Idaho News
Rexburg

Thornton Interchange set to be completed in time for winter

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THORNTON — Some locals have been dreading their drive as they pass by construction for the new Thornton interchange. Others are looking forward to the convenience the roadway will bring back to their businesses.

“Right now they need to drive about five miles past us on Highway 20 to Rexburg, get on an off ramp, which is very crowded usually with school and college and other events, and then back track right back to us,” Bench Mark Potato Company owner Kent Sutton said.

Sutton, who runs his business in Thornton, said trucks heading north to his facility have had to reroute since county roads to Thornton are blocked.

“It has created a little bit of a hardship,” Sutton said.

But, the construction and decreased speeds are about to come to an end.

“It’s going to be a major improvement for the traveling public to be able to jump off U.S. 20, which is a busy stretch between Idaho Falls and Sugar City,” Idaho Transportation Department spokesman Bruce King said.

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Natalia Hepworth, EastIdahoNews.com

Since March more than 45,000 man-hours have been put into the construction of the overpass. King said the construction of the overpass is on schedule, and the budget is falling in line with original projections.

“All the cost in planning and designing the project and building it… is going to be approximately $20 million,” King said.

As the overpass gets closer to its completion date, traffic will be able to use both bridges on Highway 20 but the speed limit will remain 55 miles per hour. Workers are forming parapet walls on the overpass, finishing the base underneath the bridges, and laying the proper electrical work to illuminate the overpass.

“The plan is once the new interchange is complete and all of the improvements are done in preparation for the cold weather of the winter, then the speed limit will be restored to 65 miles per hour,” King said.

The Thornton Interchange is the last planned interchange project on Highway 20 by the Idaho Transportation Department. King said the interchange will increase safety for travelers. The overpass scheduled for completion at the end of October, or the beginning of November.

The little few months of inconvenience is going to be worth a lot of years of having a finished overpass,” Sutton said.

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Natalia Hepworth, EastIdahoNews.com

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