POST FALLS — The first earth has been broken on the new interchange project at Interstate 90 and State Highway 41 in Post Falls.

To help celebrate the occasion, Gov. Brad Little, rocking sunglasses on a sunny Tuesday afternoon, joined project leaders to dig spades into the ground and let the dirt fly.

Little opened his speech with a memory of the late Frank Henderson.

"One guy whose name comes to mind about Post Falls roads is the late great Frank Henderson," Little said. "Frank was probably one of the best advocates we ever had for transportation funding."

Henderson served as Post Falls mayor, Kootenai County commissioner and as the oldest serving Idaho state representative for five terms.

Little said he knows Henderson would be proud of what the Idaho Legislature has accomplished in recent years.

"He always had a big love for Post Falls, and he wanted good roads, particularly right here," Little said.

A small gathering was held at the corner of Primrose Lane and East Manor Avenue to commence the start of the interchange construction, which is part of Little's Leading Idaho Initiative for transportation investment.

The $78 million project is expected to reduce wrecks and improve traffic flow. The I-90 westbound loop will no longer curve. All ramps will come together at a single point and be controlled by a traffic signal. Upgrades will replace existing bridges, add new bridges, realign on- and off-ramps and construct capacity for future interstate expansion. The intersection at Highway 41 and Mullan Avenue will also be improved.

"As you may know, we passed the largest transportation funding package in state history," Little said.

He said it would have taken years to secure that money in the past. However, thanks to a bold move recommended by the Idaho Transportation Board and Idaho Transportation Department, with support from the Idaho Legislature, the project is now possible.

"You all know, right about this time, traffic backs up here nearly every work day," Little said. "It's a safety issue. But more importantly, one of the commodities that is precious to every one of us is our time. Whether it's efficiency getting to work, whether it's efficiency of moving freight."

Even more important, Little said, is that by not being stuck in traffic, people are able to be with their families more or be doing other things they enjoy.

"It's really an investment in time. The most incredible thing about it is we did it without raising taxes," he said as people clapped.

Little said "Leading Idaho" means addressing Idaho's needs.

He said he applauds what Congress and what other states are doing for putting money into infrastructure legislation.

"But they borrowed from your children and grandchildren. We didn't do that in Idaho. That's not the way we do things in Idaho," he said. "I'm very proud of everybody related to the transportation system and I'm very proud of the Idaho Transportation Department and their stellar board."

Idaho Transportation Director Scott Stokes said one of the most important impacts of these projects is the improvement in safety.

"This project has been backing out on the freeway, the ramps, for years and years," Stokes said. "When we did the highway from Coeur d'Alene down to Worley a few years ago, that improved safety and reduced the fatalities and crashes by over 50%. Think of the impacts of that to families and to the community."

He said Idaho loses more than 200 people to fatalities each year.

Post Falls Mayor Ron Jacobson shared an old local adage: "There are two seasons in Idaho — winter and road construction."

"We are getting ready to start this project to continue the construction season, and it couldn't come at a better time," he said. "With the improvement of Highway 41 soon to be complete, with the new interchange, it's just going to make things much easier for the citizens of Post Falls and anybody visiting here."

Visit itdprojects.org/projects/i90sh41ic for full project details.