Board Cuts Garvee Request

Lower-than-expected construction bids have led the Idaho Transportation Board to reduce its latest request for Garvee bond authority.

The board had planned to ask lawmakers this year for authority to issue $45 million in grant anticipation revenue vehicle bonds for three projects in the state’s highway improvement program.

But an Interstate 84 expansion project, estimated at $48 billion, has been reduced to $32 million because of those lower-than-anticipated costs, according to a news release the Idaho Department of Transportation issued Wednesday.

“The competition among contractors combined with the low interest rates makes this an ideal time to continue using Garvee bonds to improve our roads and bridges and keep Idahoans working,” Darrell Manning, chairman of the transportation board, said in the release.

Idaho lawmakers have approved $681 million in Garvee bonds to date, with the most recent $84 million sale to close this week, according to the state DOT.

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