When construction on US 20 over the Lorenzo Bridge will finish

“As we all know, we had a very long winter this last winter and our construction season here in Idaho especially East Idaho tend to be a bit shorter. So we try to fit in as much in that short amount of time as we can. So that way for the duration of the year and so on, we have a good road,” said Idaho Transportation Department Public Information Specialist, Megan Stark.

The purpose of this project is to improve and expand the lifetime of the bridge.

“At the Lorenzo Bridge we’re actually resurfacing the bridge deck, we’re replacing the guard rail, we’re improving the bridge approaches and we’re also finishing up with adding new pavement,” said Stark.

The Idaho Transportation Department recently finished the westbound side of the bridge, and now they’re working on the eastbound side which requires traffic to merge to a single lane on the westbound side.

“As of right now the traffic flows been actually really well,” said Stark.

The Idaho State Police has been present throughout the construction season making sure drivers are staying safe.

While aggressive speeding drivers have slowed down, ISP says aggressive drivers are still present.

“The aggressive drivers which we were seeing as the two lanes merge into one, what we typically see is somebody trying to get ahead of the line of traffic and wait to the last moment to get over and that causes issues,” said Idaho State Police’s, CPL. Mike Nielson.

To stay safe, ISP encourages you merge early, slow down and be aware of your surroundings. Also, plan ahead as Exit 325 headed eastbound for Rexburg is closed.

“They’ve set up a lot of advance notice signs prior to the lanes merging together, so it’s giving the public a lot of advance notice to keep everyone safe,” said Nielson.

And just when will all the construction be complete?

Officials say the project is expected to be finished by October of this year.