RIGBY - There's a saying here in Eastern Idaho that we really only have two seasons; winter and road construction.

Now that we're pretty sure the former is out of the way, it didn't take long for the latter to get going.

For this year's construction season, the Idaho Transportation Department has roughly 20 projects planned here in Eastern Idaho.

Major jobs include the reconstruction of US-26 between Idaho Falls and Ririe. When finished, the $13 million project will see the highway widen from two lanes to four.

"Upgrading that route from two to four lanes and adding turn lanes at the county road intersection and right turn bays will significantly improve not only safety, but traffic flow," explains ITD Communications Officer, Bruce King.

Another major project in our area that has already started is a $10-15 million reconstruction of the Menan, Lorenzo interchange on US-20, north of Rigby.

Right now, they're in the process of installing new conduit piping bridges.
Crews are also installing a box culvert which will carry the water from the Island Canal underneath the new interchange.

Once those are finished, they'll start reconstructing the interchange.

Like all of us, the ITD has felt the wrath of the economy. However, their construction jobs have been planned years in advance.

But as far as future projects go, the Department is unsure how many roads will go unfixed in the years to come.

"Of course the economy has affected revenues coming into the state so we're doing the best we can with resources available," said King.