Beginning next week, a project to repair 17 structures on US-95 from Plummer to Westmond will begin.
Repairs will include overlays and some demolition, although work and impacts will vary from bridge to bridge. Drivers can expect at least one lane open.
Prominent bridges include several structures near the ID-58 interchange, Bunco Road overpass and the Athol interchange. All work is expected to be completed after September.
Contractors are typically expected to be on site during weekdays. They will likely spend a few weeks at each bridge before moving on to the next, with some overlapping work possible.
Repairs to Bunco Road overpass near Silverwood will be done at night to minimize impacts to traffic. Those repairs are currently scheduled for July.
More information can be found online at itdprojects.org/us95bridges.
Beginning in late April, contractors will start removing hazard trees along two miles of Interstate 90 near Fourth of July Pass to enhance highway safety. Trees can be hazardous when they fall, shade roadways and cause icy conditions in winter as well as hide any approaching wildlife.
Work will last for approximately one month during which travelers can expect work on the shoulders. Trees on the eastbound side will be removed first, followed by trees on the westbound side. Impacts are expected to be limited to the two lanes closest to the work.
Drivers may encounter single-lane or possibly two-lane closures of I-90. Full closures will be less than 10 minutes and may be necessary when logging tall or dead trees near the interstate. Crews will determine the need for and timing of these closures on site.
The contractor will remove dead and dying trees from 200 acres of state property while also harvesting other trees in the area to cover operating costs.
“It’s important to do this work when we can because trees can fall on the road or act as obstacles when people drive off the road,” operations engineer Jerry Wilson said. “We’ve found a way to let experts remove these trees at no extra cost to the taxpayers, while enhancing their safety.”
In the past, ITD has hired help to remove trees that could not be safely removed with its own employees and equipment, with a recent contract charging $1,000 per tree.
“Given the number of trees that need to be removed in this section, that wasn’t feasible,” Wilson said. “If this process works well, ITD could continue to use similar partnerships to increase safety along the entire corridor.”
More details can be found by watching this video or by visiting itdprojects.org/i90trees.
Eastbound drivers on Interstate 90 can expect a single-lane closure near the Idaho Highway 41 exit as crews work on the weigh-in-motion concrete slab just west of the interchange.
The slow lane on eastbound I-90 is planned for closure through this weekend (April 19-21) and next weekend (April 26-28), with some nighttime restrictions possible between the planned weekend closures.
Work will help port of entry officials gain more accurate measurements from the scales by creating a smoother transition. Repairs are part of a larger project to improve bridges on I-90 and in Post Falls.
All bridge work is expected to be completed by early July and will be followed by another project to reduce rutting from the Washington-Idaho border to the Northwest Boulevard exit. Resurfacing will last until September.
Information on the bridge maintenance project can be found at itdprojects.org/i90bridgespf, and information on the resurfacing project can be found at itdprojects.org/i90statelineresurfacing.
Work to repair six structures on Interstate 90 from Bennett Bay to Kellogg will start Monday, April 15.
Bridge decks on interstate ramps at Pine Creek in Pinehurst will be repaired first. A month-long detour to the Kingston exit is planned to be in place while crews work on the eastbound off-ramp.
Crews will move between bridges as they complete repairs, with the ramps at Pinehurst followed by the Airport Road overpass in Smelterville and the Bunker Avenue overpass in Kellogg. Bridges at Bennett Bay and the Kingston overpass are scheduled for improvements in May and June.
Work will pause for six weeks around July to allow water levels to lower so crews can apply protective paint to one structure in Pinehurst in August.
Bridges on the interstate may be reduced to one lane in each direction, and closures for structures over the interstate will vary with the location and availability of detours nearby. Drivers are advised to check 511.idaho.gov for the latest traffic impacts and to visit the website for more information.
Work is planned Friday, March 29 to temporarily repair depressions on Interstate 90 near Kellogg for a second time.
Crews will add asphalt to the dips to form a smooth surface for drivers. 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.
Repairs to all four dips are expected to take one day, though future temporary repairs may be needed.
The Idaho Transportation Department continues to coordinate with other agencies in the area to investigate the cause of the damage and to develop a long-term fix for the depressions.
Drilling next week will help develop permanent repairs by collecting road data. Scheduled for April 4, drivers can expect a single-lane closure on eastbound I-90 during drilling operations.
The speed limit will be reevaluated to increase it back to as near 75 mph as is safely possible.
For more information, visit the project website.
Interstate 90 will be reduced to two lanes at night next week while crews prepare for continued construction this year to repair bridges over Huetter and Atlas roads.
Construction in the area last year built crossovers that will allow all four lanes to remain open during daytime work, which is scheduled to begin the last weekend in March.
Eastbound lanes will be divided before the rest area near Huetter, with one lane remaining in place for access to the rest area and Northwest Boulevard, and the other lane crossing the median to join westbound traffic over the bridges. Although those needing access to the rest area and Northwest Boulevard exit will need to remain in the right lane, both lanes will have access to the US-95 exit. View a graphic showing traffic impacts.
Later this year, crews will work on the other halves of the bridges, requiring westbound lanes to be divided and all drivers heading to the rest area will need to take the right lane. Both lanes will have access to the Idaho Highway 41 exit during that configuration.
As part of this project, more overpasses in Post Falls will receive a sealing treatment. This work will be done at night and requires single-lane closures for a few nights per bridge.
At this time the only planned daytime closures on the interstate are scheduled for work later this spring to gain more accurate measurements from the weigh-in-motion concrete slab west of the ID-41 interchange by creating a smoother transition. During this time, one eastbound lane will be closed for two weekends with some nighttime lane closures in between.
All work is expected to be completed by early July and will be followed by another project to reduce rutting from the Washington-Idaho border to the Northwest Boulevard exit. Resurfacing will last until September.
Information on the bridge maintenance project can be found at itdprojects.org/i90bridgespf, and information on the resurfacing project can be found at itdprojects.org/i90statelineresurfacing.
In early April, crews will start work on the driving surface of the bridge over the St. Joe River on Idaho Highway 3 in St. Maries.
Two lanes of traffic will run on the newest portion of the bridge, with this and other weather-dependent work, such as the placing of more sidewalks and the paving of Meadowhurst Drive, scheduled for completion this summer. Other remaining work includes placing an overlay and installing fencing on the railroad bridge, which opened to traffic in January 2019.
In the meantime, a small crew is still on the construction site performing work that is not weather-dependent.
Upon completion, 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.
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.
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.
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.
