POST FALLS, Idaho — Drivers in Post Falls finally have a fully completed interchange between I-90 and Highway 41.
Business owners are hoping it will increase foot traffic in their stores, but some are frustrated with how long the construction took.
Nearby businesses said they saw a big drop in customers during the four years the project was ongoing. A gas station owner said the amount of gas he was selling dropped by more than half.
Now that the interchange is finally open, these businesses hope things will start getting better. One barbershop says it’s already seeing more customers.
“With the interchange, it’s moving quick,” said Jeremy Daley, manager of the Locker Room. “With I-90, if there’s an accident it backs Seltice up for hours and it effects business because no one can get over or get in. But it hasn’t been too bad for us.”
Other businesses are still waiting for a boost in sales, but hope that is due to drivers getting used to the new interchange.
“Customers are happier now,” Daley said. “They come in and they’re not complaining about the traffic now so that’s good. It’s a lot smoother because now they have the eastbound ramp open and it’s a lot better than last week when it was closed and they were paving. Everything is flowing pretty good.”
The project was originally scheduled to finish in 2025, but union strokes last summer pushed the project back another year.
The project included building a new westbound off ramp at Highway 41 as well as realigning other on and off ramps. The Idaho Transportation Department says the total construction cost was $78 million.
ITD says it is planning road closures at Huetter Road and Atlas Road over the next few weeks for bridge demolitions that go over I-90.
COPYRIGHT 2026 BY KXLY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.
