EAGLE, IDAHO — ACHD is closing the intersection of 2nd and Old State Street due to an unknown utility issue, in order to continue the first phase of their Downtown Eagle Mobility Project.
- Folks will now be directed to use Plaza Drive in order to get to Eagle Road if on Old State.
- This project should last until late October.
- To see more updates on the project click here.
(Below is the transcript from the broadcast story)
As construction work continues in downtown Eagle, this intersection will now be completely closed for the next month. I'm your Eagle neighborhood reporter Alexander Huddleston with the detour details you need to know and reaction from business owners who want you to know their doors are still open!
"Yeah, we have definitely seen it slow down a little bit. It is a lot harder to get in and out," said Spitfire Tacos General Manager Kenon Nibbs.
Only a little under a month ago, ACHD closed down part of the intersection at Old State and 2nd Street to continue phase one of their Downtown Eagle Mobility Project. However now, the intersection will be completely closed for the next month.
Cody Homan of ACHD explained, "We had kept it open to eastbound traffic initially. Unfortunately, we ran into an unknown utility issue, which knocked us back a couple of weeks of construction time. So to speed up the bulk of the project and make it safer, we still had some people that would try and jump through here going the other direction, we talked with most of the businesses in the area and decided to just close it down."
Nibbs says the partial closure already impacted business, and he hopes the full closure won't make things worse.
"We have seen about a 25% decrease, but people are still coming out and trying us who are brand new," smiled Nibbs. "We still have our drive-thru that you order online and we will text you when the order is ready."
Other business owners tell me they are happy the project is being rushed and are very thankful that ACHD built temporary sidewalks to keep foot traffic up.
Nibbs continued, "There is, definitely, street parking available up and down 2nd Street. It's not that far of a walk. They opened up parts of East State Street, as well. There are plenty of places to park if you're willing to put in a little bit of a walk."
As of right now, drivers are encouraged to take Plaza Drive to Eagle Road instead of Old State Street. This part of the project will be widening the roadway to allow a left turn lane, as well as a full cross light, to help move the flow of traffic.
"This will be a great detour for when we work on the Eagle-State intersection, as it has the most traffic," finished Homan.
ACHD says the intersection is expected to be done by late October. Until then, they made sure these sidewalks stayed open for shoppers.
