Meridian coughed up millions and waited years. It’s finally getting this I-84 overpass
The Ada County Highway District’s long-touted plans for an overpass extending Linder Road over Interstate-84 in Meridian are moving forward.
On Monday, ACHD commenced construction on the first phase of the overpass, which has been a twinkle in the highway district’s eye for at least 19 years, one City Council member in Meridian estimates.
“It’s been a long road,” Council Member John Overton told the Idaho Statesman in a phone interview. Overton said he remembers the project on an ACHD work plan dating back almost two decades.
With a boon from the city to the tune of $2.5 million, plus $4.3 million granted to the city by the Idaho Transportation Department and funneled toward the project, the overpass is finally in sight.
ACHD to build overpass in two phases
When completed, the overpass will connect the two segments of Linder Road north and south over I-84 on a bridge that includes two lanes of traffic — plus bike and pedestrian lanes — in each direction. Plans for the overpass also include improvements on Linder from Franklin Road to Overland Road, including road widening and intersection improvements.
The project, which is estimated to cost $28 million, will be completed in two phases, according to Reid Selmer, the ACHD project manager overseeing it.
The first phase focuses on improvements to the Overland-and-Linder intersection south of the interstate. These include sidewalks, bulb-outs, bike ramps and a multi-use pathway, as well an additional traffic signal.
Linder would then be extended from the intersection north to the interstate.
“With that, we’re not actually doing or starting the overpass with this phase,” Selmer told the Statesman in a phone interview. “This phase is basically prepping this southern portion of the whole Linder — Franklin to Overland — project, so that when Phase 2 begins, it’ll be ready to receive the the bridge once it gets constructed.”
Selmer said construction of the first phase is anticipated to be completed by September 2025 and to cost about $3.3 million. Phase 1 construction will be carried out by Idaho Materials and Construction, a Treasure Valley based company owned by Irish corporation CRH, Selmer said.
Phase 2 — with a much higher price tag of roughly $24 million — would involve widening Linder from I-84 north to Franklin, plus constructing the overpass itself.
Selmer said that as Phase 1 is being constructed, ACHD is working to gain the necessary right-of-ways for Phase 2. He anticipates Phase 2 construction to begin in summer 2026 and to take about a year.
The Idaho Transportation Department will be in charge of maintaining the bridge once it’s completed. “ITD is gonna be involved, is gonna sign off, is gonna expect, so that when construction is done, they will say, ‘OK, we will take this, we will own this,’” Selmer said.
City coughs up millions to expedite project
Meridian Mayor Robert Simison and other city officials are championing the overpass project — and they have good reason to.
In his 2021 state of the city address, Simison described the overpass as the city’s “No. 1 road priority.” In April of that year, the City Council approved $2.5 million from the city’s general fund to go toward the project’s design.
Selmer told the Statesman the project’s design — which began in 2022 — was almost entirely funded by the city of Meridian through that initial contribution. City spokesperson Trevor Smith said by email that $1.6 million of that allocation has been spent so far.
Then in 2023, the city was awarded $4.3 million through an ITD strategic initiatives grant, which it then transferred to ACHD for spending on the project as well, Smith said, bringing the city’s total contribution to the overpass to $6.8 million.
Selmer estimates the roughly $24 million cost of the second phase breaks down to about $16.5 million for Linder Road widening and improvements, plus about $7.5 million for the overpass itself. Selmer said the overpass cost is expected to be covered by ITD.
“We’re still working with them to acquire those funds, but everything looks to be moving in a positive direction on that front, to acquire funding for the rest of this project, with both city of Meridian and ITD helping out,” Selmer said.
The $28 million cost of construction, $2.5 million in design, plus roughly $6 million in Phase 2 right-of-ways, bring the project’s total price tag to over $36 million.
Meridian officials expect Ten Mile traffic ‘relief’
Meridian officials seem confident that the money is being well-spent.
“One of the things that I have heard so much from our community is more efforts to connect ourselves,” City Council President Luke Cavener told the Statesman in a phone interview. “Both in terms of making sure that we’ve got adequate emergency responders and parks and retail in South Meridian, but also making it easier ... for North Meridian residents to get to the south side as well.”
Cavener said that when the overpass is completed, residents in South Meridian and Kuna would have another option for traveling north besides Ten Mile and Meridian roads.
“That’s moving traffic that would otherwise be on Ten Mile or Meridian Road onto Linder and make it easier for people to get to and from with less congestion, which I think we can all appreciate right now.”
Overton, who served as a Meridian police officer and has made traffic and road safety a focus of his time on the City Council, said that the overpass would act as a “pressure valve” and have “regional” impacts.
“We’re that center spoke on a wheel, and everybody from all the other cities drives through our city, in one way or another,” Overton said. “The city that’s going to get the most relief is going to be Kuna. Meridian residents to the south are going to get a lot of relief, and quite a few residents to the north are going to get relief.”
Overton said he looks to the Locust Grove overpass, which provided similar relief when it opened in 2007. Traffic counts on the overpass were higher than people expected at the time, he recalled, easing congestion on nearby interchanges. “I think we’re going to see the same thing with Linder,” he said.
Both council members acknowledged that the project has taken a while to get off the ground. “This has been a project a long time in the making,” Cavener said.
What residents can expect? ‘Change.’
Cavener emphasized that the city and ACHD worked closely with residents near Linder Road in the design of the project.
“I know there are people that live over there that have been used to having a dead-end road on Linder as long as they’ve been alive, and we know that that change is going to have an impact,” Cavener said. “I represent that area, and so I’ve heard from residents (who) are like, ‘Luke, we get that you’re excited about the Linder Road overpass, but I’m not. I like my quiet street, and I’m worried about what that traffic is going to do.’”
Cavener said the city held neighborhood meetings, and ACHD, ITD and the city “have taken a lot of that residential feedback into account.” For example, Cavener said the overpass design included a sound barrier on the east side of Linder as a result of feedback from neighbors.
Selmer also noted that ACHD is trying to be “proactive” in terms of preventing people from attempting to cut through residential neighborhoods near the project during construction.
“We’re trying to accommodate them with things like speed bumps or temporary stop signs, or things like that, just to lessen that impact of cars thinking they could take a shortcut instead of following our detour routes,” Selmer said.
During Phase 1 construction, ACHD anticipates the following impacts to the Linder Road and Overland Road intersection, according to its website (and quoted verbatim here):
- Lane Restrictions: Both roads may have a reduced number of travel lanes occasionally, but flaggers will be present.
- Intersection closures: The intersection may be temporarily closed at times to safely facilitate construction and/or utility work.
- Pedestrians and Bike Route Detours: Detours will be in place to keep pedestrians and bicyclists moving safely.
- Construction Activity: Expect general construction noise, including equipment backup alarms, dust and ground vibration.
- Business Access: Access to businesses will stay open, and the contractor will work with property and business owners to keep entrances clear or provide alternate accesses.
In the second half of Phase 1, a small segment of Linder Road is expected to be closed south of Overland Road to Spanish Sun Way.
This story was originally published March 27, 2025 at 4:00 AM.
