Drive in Meridian? Six state and local road projects to watch out for this year
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- Idaho 16 freeway construction will progress through 2026 with lane closures on I-84.
- Ustick widening projects and interchange work will reshape traffic patterns by 2026.
- Linder Road overpass, Eagle Road variable speeds and summer chip-seal to affect commutes.
As the Boise area grows and traffic congestion worsens, the pressure on Treasure Valley roads is, well, on.
In Meridian, where tens of thousands of commuters travel to and from Boise each day, city officials met with the Ada County Highway District to discuss road priorities for the year ahead.
The Idaho Statesman attended the Jan. 13 meeting and checked in with ACHD and Idaho Transportation Department officials to get a sense of the upcoming projects and how they’ll impact travel.
From a new highway overpass soon to begin construction to road widening and “chip-seal season,” here’s what Meridian drivers can look forward to — or brace themselves for — in 2026.
1. A new Treasure Valley freeway; a year (ish) of construction
The largest and perhaps most obvious road project underway in Meridian is the Idaho 16 extension. The Treasure Valley’s first new freeway in over 40 years, the extension will span from Interstate 84 north to Idaho 44, or State Street, and is expected to cut north-south commutes between I-84 and Emmett by almost half.
The $400 million freeway is on track to open in 2027, according to Jill Youmans, an Idaho Transportation Department spokesperson. Youmans said by email that the freeway will be “nearing completion a year from now,” and that ITD will wait to open it until the “full corridor is complete, which allows crews to work more efficiently and helps keep the overall construction timeline on track.”
But drivers will notice changes much sooner than that — if they haven’t already. Construction activity will be “visible” throughout 2026, Youmans said, and some work will be paired with closures, shifted traffic patterns and delays.
Starting Friday, Jan. 16, crews were set to begin installing girders for the first of two flyover ramps at the new I-84/Idaho 16 interchange, which is expected to function similar to the Flying Wye in Boise. Over the weekend, eastbound I-84 was set to be closed between Garrity Boulevard and Ten Mile Road, according to an ITD news release.
“In March there will be additional closures on I-84 as we continue to put girders in place for the interchange,” Youmans said. “Over the next year, the public can expect to see a full interstate interchange emerge at that location.”
Further north, closures are expected in February as crews place girders at the interchange of Idaho 16 and Ustick Road, Youmans said. Work is also underway on a $55 million interchange at Idaho 16 and Idaho 44.
2. Idaho 16 ‘supportive’ projects to widen Ustick Road
For ACHD, which controls local roads in the county, the coming freeway poses both benefits and challenges. A 2018 analysis forecasted that the highway would alleviate traffic on north-south roads like Ten Mile, Linder and Black Cat by 2040.
One county road where traffic is expected to worsen? Ustick.
In the joint ACHD-Meridian meeting, Brian McCarthy, ACHD’s manager of right-of-way acquisition, kicked off a list of 2026 priorities with what he called “State Highway 16 supportive projects.” Four were on Ustick Road.
Three Ustick projects now under construction include:
- Widening to two lanes in each direction, plus a central turn lane at “key locations,” from Black Cat to Ten Mile, and upgrading the Black Cat intersection.
- Widening to two lanes in each direction, plus a central turn lane, from Ten Mile to Linder.
- Widening to two lanes in each direction, plus a central turn lane, and adding a multiuse pathway, from the Phyllis Canal to Owyhee Storm Avenue in Nampa.
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Of these, the Black Cat to Ten Mile section is the furthest along, McCarthy said. He anticipates it’ll be completed in the spring. The others will be under construction throughout the year, with the Nampa section expected to be complete by the end of 2026, he said.
A fourth section of Ustick, from McDermott Road to Black Cat, is being prepped for construction in 2027, he said.
“Completing these improvements now will support the (Idaho) 16 extension ahead of its opening,” said ACHD spokesperson Rachel Bjornestad in an email to the Statesman. “This will help to position the corridor for long term success while reducing the duration that commuters are impacted.”
3. A long-touted highway overpass
After two decades of anticipation and with nearly $7 million in city and ITD backing, a highway overpass is finally about to go up at Linder Road and I-84.
The highway district recently wrapped up construction on the first phase of the $28 million project, which included improvements to the intersection of Linder and Overland roads.
The second phase — construction of the actual overpass bridge — is expected to go to bid in February, with construction starting as early as June, McCarthy said.
Construction will likely push into 2027, he said.
Like Idaho 16, the overpass is hoped to bring relief to Ten Mile Road, city officials say. In his 2025 State of the City address, Mayor Robert Simison said the overpass would reduce congestion on Ten Mile and Meridian roads.
“Ultimately, the overpass gives another route for our public-safety personnel, school buses, Republic Services trucks, and others as they go north and south in Meridian,” Simison said. “A simple look on Google Maps shows that opening the overpass will about cut in half the travel time it takes for our Fire Department to respond to Peregrine Elementary. That is a big deal.”
4. New speed limits on Eagle Road ... sometimes
Another Simison priority is expected to come true this year: reduced speed limits on Eagle Road. Well, sort of.
Eagle Road, also known as Idaho 55, is the state’s busiest non-Interstate highway, according to ITD. Concerns about crashes on the business-lined road dividing Meridian and Boise have prompted years of calls for lowered speeds.
According to Youmans, ITD is “finalizing” installation of variable-speed limit signs on Eagle Road, which will instruct drivers between Franklin Road and Chinden Boulevard to slow to a 45 mph limit during peak congestion. During nonpeak hours, the signs would revert to the current speed limit, 55 mph.
Initially expected to go live in spring 2025, the signs are now expected to be operational “within the next month or so,” Youmans said.
“This is believed to be the first variable speed limit system installed on a signalized urban arterial in the United States,” she said.
The signs are part of a two-year pilot, according to Youmans. ITD also closed two left-turns and blocked another on the busy road.
5. ‘Chip-seal season’ on these Meridian roads
ACHD’s summer 2026 “chip-seal season” will focus on a section on central and West Meridian, McCarthy said.
That’s the time of year when some roads get covered in a thin layer of oil and gravel, intended to prevent potholes and extend the roadway’s life. It also can send loose rocks flying into windshields and cause other driver headaches.
This year, ACHD’s priority zone stretches from Eagle Road to McDermott Road, north of I-84 and south of Chinden Boulevard.
McCarthy clarified that within the zone, only certain roads would be chip-sealed — less than 50% of them. But throughout the zone, ACHD plans to seal cracks and do a pavement pretreatment, he said.
“We’ll be throughout the district with some kind of pavement maintenance treatment, at the very least, (and) crack-seal and chip-seal will happen on selected roadways that are meeting our current chip-seal criteria,” he said.
6. A ‘community’ project in South Meridian
As part of its Community Program Projects, which residents propose for their neighborhoods, ACHD plans to widen and upgrade a section of Stoddard Road between Overland and Victory roads.
This $6 million project by Victory Middle School will widen the road to three lanes with a center median and bike lanes, add a pathway on the west side of the road, and install new crosswalks with flashing lights or other walk signs.
McCarthy said the highway district is starting to acquire right-of-ways for the improvements and plans to begin construction in 2027.
Further down the road
Beyond 2026, road priorities in Meridian include widening Linder Road from Pine Avenue to Ustick Road, a project that will require the purchase and demolition of homes along the corridor. McCarthy said the project’s $2 million right-of-way acquisition process would take multiple years, and the first homes would be acquired in 2026.
An upgraded railroad crossing on Black Cat Road is planned for 2027.
