Utility work ongoing in Bonners Ferry for US-95 reconstruction

From 2018: Traffic flows through construction on US-95 near the Kootenai River Bridge in Bonners Ferry.

During the month of March, work on the east side of US-95 from Madison Street to Alderson Lane will relocate utilities in advance of paving.

In the next few weeks, crews will remove some of the sidewalks and drainage infrastructure. Some trees will be cleared away, and the vacant building near Lincoln Street will be demolished. This work could require some temporary lane closures, but the major roadway impacts for the season are expected to start in April and last until October.

Once paving starts, one lane will remain open in each direction. Any nighttime work will allow alternating, one-way traffic. Sidewalks will be closed for the duration of the project, and city street intersections will be closed temporarily as they are reconstructed.

The signal at Alderson Lane will be removed later this year.

Work this season will wrap up the initial stage of reconstruction from the Kootenai River Bridge to Alderson Lane. Work from Alderson Lane to Labrosse Hill Street is scheduled to start in 2022 and end in 2023. After construction, there will be a continuous three-lane section through town complete with pedestrian facilities.

For more information, visit the project website.

Work begins today on I-90 emergency repairs near Kellogg

COEUR d’ALENE – Work began today (Thursday, Feb. 14) at 5 a.m. on Interstate 90 emergency repairs from milepost 48-49 near Kellogg.

Crews are performing a mill and inlay (adding layers of asphalt to create a smoother driving surface) on the pavement in both the east- and westbound lanes of the freeway to correct “dips” in the pavement that appeared during the last week and forced a speed-limit reduction from 75 mph to 45 mph.

The work will be done on one lane of each section (eastbound and westbound) at a time, with traffic shifted over to the other lane. Work on this temporary fix is expected to be completed by 7 p.m. this evening.

However, further work may be necessary throughout the winter to correct the dipping until a more permanent repair can be done this spring/summer.

The Idaho Transportation Department is coordinating with other agencies in the area to investigate the cause of the damage and to develop a long-term fix for the depressions.

The speed limit also will be evaluated to increase it back to as near 75 mph as is safely possible.

The mill and inlay is being completed by Interstate Concrete and Asphalt.

Lower speed limit advised on I-90 near Kellogg

A car loses snow from its roof as it drives over the dip on I-90 near Kellogg.

Drivers are advised to reduce speeds on Interstate 90 near Kellogg due to a dip in the road.

Watch this video to see vehicles drive over the dip.

New signage near milepost 48.6 encourages drivers to drop from 75 mph to 45 mph in the area of the depression. Drivers should pay attention to signage as speed limits may change in accordance with roadway conditions.

The depression appears to be caused by water running under the roadway. The Idaho Transportation Department is monitoring the area and investigating the source of the water to develop a long-term solution. Roadway issues like this typically require deep excavation and reconstruction of the road base.

ITD is exploring options to temporarily fill in the dip as early as next week. In the meantime, drivers are encouraged to reduce their speeds.

Bridge construction starts in Hope in late February

Water flows under ID-200B near Hope, Idaho.

Construction to replace the bridge over Strong Creek on the business route of Idaho Highway 200 will start the last week of February.

Work is expected to last until late June. During that time, the highway will be shut down completely with a detour route posted.

Pedestrian access may be provided depending upon the contractor’s resources. Toward the end of construction, flaggers may be able to allow alternating, one-way traffic over the structure.

Workers are expected to be on site during the day throughout the week, though activity over the weekends is allowed.

A meeting will be held at the Memorial Community Center in Hope on Tuesday, February 12 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. It will be primarily for emergency services, but all members of the public are welcome to stop by at any time to ask questions.

The new structure will feature a concrete sidewalk with accessible ramps.

For more information, visit the project website.

Alternatives merged in new design developed for Post Falls interchange

Aerial view of the current I-90/ID-41 interchange.

Following a public meeting in November 2018, the Idaho Transportation Department developed a different alternative for the Interstate 90 and Idaho Highway 41 interchange in Post Falls.

The new design merges the advantages of the two alternatives that were developed by a special planning team and presented to the public last fall.

Called an offset single-point urban interchange (SPUI), it features a SPUI shifted north of the interstate, eliminating the extensive impacts to Seltice Way and other local roads that were considered in the previous alternatives. The highway will still move to the west to better accommodate the ramps, and after passing under the interstate, connects to Seltice Way at Herborn Place.

The offset SPUI eliminates the loop ramp at the westbound exit on I-90, a design element that was well-received in the original SPUI design.

Construction costs are estimated to be $39 million, compared to the estimated $65 million for the earlier SPUI design and the $31 million for the half-diamond design.

“People who spoke with us at the meeting or left a comment provided us with valuable feedback that we tried to integrate in this alternative,” project manager Shannon Stein said. “This design achieves the efficiencies of a SPUI interchange and excellent compatibility for future expansion and at a lower cost.”

Members of the public will get a chance to formally comment on the selected design later this year. The project is scheduled to be constructed in 2023. To view other details about the proposed improvements, visit the project website.

Bridge on ID-3 in St. Maries reopened last week, ending detour through town

A truck crosses the railroad bridge on ID-3 in St. Maries after its reopening in Jan. 2019.

The St. Maries Railroad Bridge on Idaho Highway 3 is now open to two-way traffic, meaning drivers will no longer need to detour through town.

Crews have also suspended work on the bridge on ID-3 over the river for the winter to ensure the highest quality completed project. Other tasks that are not weather dependent will continue.

Most other traffic and parking situations have returned to how they before construction, specifically:

A four-way stop at ID-3 and ID-5.
Two-way traffic on both 10^th and 11^th Streets north of Main Avenue.
NO four-way stop at Main Avenue and 10^th Street.
The intersection at 10^th Street and Railroad Avenue will be placed back into the original configuration of stop signs on 10^th Street in both direction and free-flowing traffic on Railroad Avenue.

Traffic patterns on the river bridge will continue to function as they have been–two-way traffic shifted to the west side of the structure. In coordination with this work, the south end of Meadowhurst Drive will continue to be closed, and Riverside Avenue under the bridge will be intermittently closed as needed for construction. These impacts will be in place through completion of construction.

Pedestrian access across the river bridge will also remain the same: a sidewalk on the west side of the river bridge connects to a pedestrian crossing over Railroad Avenue and to the new sidewalk on the railroad bridge.

Upon completion in early summer 2019, both bridges will include one lane in each direction with a shoulder and sidewalk on each side. Work also includes reconstructing the highway to match the upgraded bridges, replacing guardrail and signs in several locations and improving the adjoining intersections.

Check 511 for traffic impacts or visit the “Projects” tab at itd.idaho.gov/d1 for more information.

Members of the public are also invited to contact the project team by calling the project hotline at 208-292-8515 or by emailing Gemma Puddy at gpuddy@langdongroupinc.com.

Collecting trash, even in the winter

An Adopt a Highway volunteer stops for a picture on Ramsey Road in CDA.

Trash is deposited along state highways year round, but most drivers tend to forget about it during the winter months when snow covers it temporarily.

That doesn’t apply to Richard White, a 63-year-old Coeur d’Alene resident who for nearly three years has independently roved city streets and state highways to pick it up.

White said he retired early from his job with Strate Line Crane & Rigging (now Barnhart Crane & Rigging) due to medical issues, and months later found himself tinkering on a neighbor’s bicycle. Given his health condition, he was surprised when his test trip down the driveway to get the mail worked out.

He decided to get back on his larger bike and gained access to mobility he had been missing. He also found trash on his travels, inspiring him to develop a loop through Coeur d’Alene and even toward Post Falls that covers more than 20 miles.

“I can’t see or walk very well, or even drive, but I can pick up trash,” White said.

White makes the trip every morning on his bike, wearing reflective gear and packing tools like plastic bags, a saw and rolls of wire on his back. His trips are so regular that often he does not even need to stop to pick up trash but rather slows down to catch what piled up in the last day.

He has talked to local business owners who let him throw the garbage he collects into their dumpsters, and now as an official participant of ITD’s Adopt a Highway program, the department’s operations crews will help by collecting the bags from the roadside.

His unusually mobile setup has attracted a lot of attention.

“People are pulling over constantly to ask me what I’m doing,” White said. “Some even offer to help once they learn.”

A testament to his dedication, White’s daily trips also serve as reminder to us all to do our part in keeping communities clean and healthy.

Law enforcement agencies unite to honor Jacob Leeder this holiday season

Every holiday season, law enforcement agencies place extra officers on the roads to patrol communities to prevent impaired driving. This year, six agencies in Kootenai County have joined forces in memory of Jacob Leeder.

Jacob Leeder was the son of Sergeant Tim Leeder with the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office. He died last December after the vehicle he was riding in was struck by a drunk driver.

To honor him, officers from Spirit Lake PD, Coeur d’Alene PD, Post Falls PD, Rathdrum PD, Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office and Idaho State Police will conduct emphasis patrols through the holidays, with the first set for November 21-24.

Other emphasis patrols will take place Dec. 21-22 and Dec. 29-31. Officers on most emphasis patrols will be able to partner with county prosecutors to apply for evidentiary blood draw warrants for impaired drivers who refuse to cooperate with breath tests.

Local law enforcement agencies note that those who refuse to cooperate with breath testing tend to have a significant history of DUIs and a high blood alcohol content when tested.

For each emphasis, members of the public can follow along from home by tuning into the agencies’ social media accounts for a virtual ride along or following #choosewisely.

“Troopers, officers and deputies will be out in force and working across our normal boundaries,” Idaho State Police Captain John Kempf said. “We hope you choose wisely and find a sober driver this holiday season.”

Extra officers at Post Falls railroad crossings in October remind drivers to be safe

Recent collaboration between local law enforcement agencies and Idaho Operation Lifesaver (IOL) gave officers multiple opportunities to remind drivers to be safe at railroad crossings in Post Falls.

Known as Officer on a Train, the operation provides officers a unique opportunity to work as a team with their counterparts. IOL allows an officer to join train engineers in the engine car for one day to observe driver behavior at crossings so that he or she may radio other officers staged nearby to address unsafe or illegal actions.

As part of the last operation, officers from Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office, Post Falls Police Department and Idaho State Police were able to make contact with 52 drivers. Twelve warnings and 31 citations were given, ranging from speeding to failing to yield.

Six officers in total spent 42 hours at the major crossings in Post Falls, including the Union Pacific crossing at Spokane Street that received warning lights and gates earlier this year as part of an ITD project.

IOL Director Travis Campbell said the effect of those improvements was extremely noticeable.

“Before lunch we would have as many as 75 violations at these crossings in Post Falls,” Campbell said. “That day we didn’t get nearly as many, and I believe those improvements are responsible in part for that decrease.”

Improvements at Spokane Street, as well as more at Grange Avenue in Post Falls, were funded by the federal Rail-Highway Crossing Program.

The program benefits Idaho by providing safety enhancement projects and supporting educational and law enforcement activities. For the last seven years, ITD has administered an average of $2.2 million every year from this program.

ITD seeks comment next Thursday for the redesign of the I-90/ID-41 interchange

The Idaho Transportation Department invites the public to view and comment on proposed alternatives for the redesign of the Interstate 90 and Idaho Highway 41 interchange at an open house next Thursday, November 8.

Members of the public may arrive at any time between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. at the Post Falls Police Department.

ITD organized a value planning process to bring together multiple stakeholders—including representatives from the city of Post Falls, Kootenai County and the Federal Highway Administration—to develop and evaluate designs to improve safety and mobility at this intersection. Of the nine alternatives ultimately proposed by the team, two were selected to be presented for public comment at this meeting.

Those unable to attend may visit the project website to learn more and to comment. Comments will be accepted between November 8 and November 27.