Category: North-Central

The Idaho Transportation Department will host an open house to discuss and gather feedback on potential changes to U.S. Highway 95 between the Rapid River Bridge and Riggins. The review process aims to enhance safety and reduce crashes.

The in-person open house is scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 29, from 4 to 6 p.m. MST at the Riggins Community Center at 121 Lodge Street. Community members are encouraged to drop by anytime to learn about the project, share input, and ask questions directly with ITD representatives and project team members.

For those unable to attend, ITD will also host an online meeting from Jan. 29 to Feb. 12 at itdprojects.idaho.gov/pages/95-rapidrivertoriggins. The online meeting will include the same information shared at the open house and offer an opportunity to submit comments and questions.

“Community feedback is essential to ensuring this project meets local needs,” ITD Project Manager Jole Wells said. “By enhancing safety and reducing crashes, we aim to improve travel for everyone using this corridor.”

For more information, visit the project website at itdprojects.idaho.gov/pages/95-rapidrivertoriggins.

By January, motorists can expect rock scaling on U.S. Highway 95 between Riggins and the Time Zone Bridge to conclude. Work began in early October to remove loose rock and install anchors to stabilize the hillside above the highway.

Motorists can continue to expect delays up to 30 minutes for safety while work is conducted above the highway. However, work is on track to stop on December 22 to avoid delaying holiday travelers.

The contractor will be back to the project site for a few weeks in the spring to repave US-95 where it was damaged during scaling.

Live traffic impacts such as lane closures and other work can be found by visiting 511.idaho.gov. Travelers can also dial 5-1-1 or download the app.

UPDATE January 2025: ITD will monitor a tension crack at MP 189 throughout the winter. Read those most recent developments here.

Repairs on State Highway 64 are complete, and the road between Nez Perce and Kamiah reopened this morning. The highway has remained closed since April 14 after a major storm event caused multiple washouts and structural damage.

“The Idaho Transportation Department and our consultant partners have been working hard to repair and reinforce the highway so that it could be safely reopened this year,” District Engineer Doral Hoff said. “I would like to thank the public for their understanding and patience during the construction.”

The emergency repairs included installation of retaining walls, rebuilding the road base, and paving. Approximately 12 slide locations between milepost 24 and 30 were rebuilt.

For more information, visit itdprojects.idaho.gov/pages/us-64-emergency-repair-project.

The Idaho Transportation Department has closed the Sheep Creek Rest Area on U.S. Highway 95 south of Riggins due to debris and spilled materials from a vehicle fire last night.

The rest area will remain closed until specialists can be contracted to remove an estimated 60 to 80 gallons of oil and engine fluids, which could take up to several days.

“We are closing the rest area to keep traffic from tracking the spilled materials onto the highway and creating slick road conditions,” Engineering Manager Bob Schumacher said. “Our buildings appear undamaged. We will reopen the rest area after completing assessments.”

The closest rest area for southbound travelers would be near Council and for northbound travelers near Winchester. Drivers should check 511.idaho.gov for updates on this closure.

Starting Wednesday morning the Clearwater Memorial Bridge on U.S. Highway 12 will be fully open. The newly constructed west side of the bridge is now complete and ready to accept both traffic and pedestrians.

Travelers can now use wider travel lanes, shoulders, median and sidewalks. In addition, with the new bridge up to current standards, there are no longer reduced weight restrictions for heavy loads.

A deck seal and additional light construction is slated for early summer 2025 to finalize repairs to this 1951 structure.

Construction began in 2023 for an estimated cost of $38.3 million and was federally funded. For more information about the project please visit itdprojects.idaho.gov/pages/us12memorialbridge.

Starting Saturday, motorists will officially be able to use the new interchange on U.S. Highway 95 to safely access Aht’Wy Plaza.

“This interchange is an outstanding solution for enhancing safety, and I am so excited to see it in action soon,” ITD Project Manager Zach Feist said. “I believe many Idahoans will not only feel safer but will experience improved mobility when traveling through the area.”

Work at the west entrance near the Nez Perce Express will continue. Starting this Saturday, that entrance will be fully closed with traffic on US-95 slowed to 45 mph and reduced to one lane in each direction. This closure will allow workers to modify the intersection to allow northbound travelers to turn right off the highway into the plaza. After that work is complete in mid-December, drivers will not be able to access US-95 from the western entrance at all and will need to use the new interchange to get back on the highway.

Construction started in May 2023.

To help motorists better understand how this interchange works, a map is available here for download.

Work on the new four-lane segment of U.S. Highway 95 between Moscow and Thorn Creek Road will continue as planned into 2025, opening to traffic by the end of that year. Speed restrictions of 45 miles per hour remain in some areas on the existing US-95 as drivers travel near the project through the winter.

While crews have constructed 4.8 miles of the new six-mile highway project including two large bridges over Eid Road since work began in 2022, wetland bridge and retaining wall work is needed on the south end while pavement construction is planned on both connections next year.

The paving operation production rate of the contractor was good this summer but not to the extent ready to consider a partial opening for traffic use.

“Overall, I am impressed with M.A. DeAtley Construction, Inc. and their teams working with ITD on this safety project, helping to expedite restarting the work since we received our new Army Corps permit update in 2023,” District Engineer Doral Hoff said.

Portions of this project are funded as part of Idaho Governor Brad Little’s Leading Idaho transportation funding initiative. The Leading Idaho money allows ITD to take a deliberate approach to advance large projects that will enhance safety, improve mobility, further strengthen Idaho’s economy and positively impact communities across the state for years to come.

Travelers are reminded to check for live traffic impacts across the region including this one by visiting 511.idaho.gov, dialing 5-1-1 or downloading the app.