NAMPA -- This is the news commuters from Nampa to Boise have been waiting to hear.
A dedication ceremony was held Friday for the opening of the third lane on Interstate 84 between Garrity Boulevard and Ten Mile Road.
Because of weather, crews can't put stripes on the lane until Sunday night. The new lane will be open to traffic for Monday morning's commute.
More than 100 people attended the ceremony and watched as Gov. Butch Otter gave construction crews the signal to remove traffic barrels off the interstate.
“It’s a great day! Finally we’re turning this twice-a-day, six-and-a-half-mile-long parking lot into a real highway again,” Otter said. “Now it’s going to be the kind of route that families and businesses won’t go out of their way to avoid; it will be the kind of highway that attracts businesses, career-path jobs and economic opportunities.”
During construction, crews also prepared the highway for a fourth lane that will open in 2011.
