The Idaho Transportation Department will begin maintenance work next week on the 18th Street Bridge over Interstate 84 in Mountain Home. Crews plan to start repairs Thursday night, with the project expected to be completed this fall.
Motorists and area residents can expect:
- 18th Street over I-84 will close nightly between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m.
- Traffic will be detoured to NE Reservoir Road, U.S. Highway 20/26 and 8th Street.
- Work may be noisy.
Improvements on this bridge include:
- Repairing roadway cracks to enhance safety and durability.
- Applying an epoxy overlay to protect the driving surface from water damage.
- Completing joint work to allow the bridge to flex and accommodate changes in weather and heavy loads.
- Adding bearing pads to reduce vibration and evenly distribute the weight of traffic across the structure.
The safety of crews and motorists is important to ITD. Please use caution when driving through the work zone. To plan your route in advance, visit 511.idaho.gov.
To learn more about the project or sign up for construction updates, visit the project website at itdprojects.idaho.gov/pages/84bridges, or text 84BRIDGES to 1-866-483-8422.
Beginning tomorrow at noon the eastbound Interstate 86 to southbound Interstate 15 ramp will be closed while crews construct a temporary road to the new eastbound to southbound ramp. Eastbound traffic on I-86 looking to travel south on I-15 will be detoured north through the Northgate Interchange (Exit 73). The closed ramp will reopen late Sunday.
This work will allow the eastbound lanes to be adjusted to the grade of the new ramp. Doing the work this weekend will limit traffic impacts during the peak Labor Day weekend.
Originally built in the 1960s, the I-86 and I-15 System Interchange is undergoing $112 million of redesign work to improve safety and replace aging infrastructure. The project is scheduled to be completed next summer.
Motorists should carefully follow signs and posted speed limits while traveling through the construction area. With crews working day and night at the System Interchange it is especially important that drivers be alert and proceed safely through the work area.
Motorists are encouraged to use https://511.idaho.gov or the 511 app to keep track of project detours. Project details are available here on ITD’s projects website —https://itdprojects.idaho.gov/pages/i-86i-15-system-interchange
Beginning tomorrow drivers can expect to see the return of temporary traffic signals through the end of the week on US-95 near McArthur Lake as guardrail and temporary barrier are installed. By the end of Friday traffic is expected to be shifted onto the bridge, at which time, the temporary signals will be permanently removed.
The adjacent shoofly- the temporary roadway that was constructed last year to divert traffic around the bridge- will begin excavation and work to complete the wildlife underpass will begin.
This project will continue to require reduced lanes, speeds, and intermittent flagging as crews continue to work. Trucks will also be entering and exiting the highway during work days to haul excavated material.
Ongoing updates regarding traffic impacts can be found using the Idaho 511 system.
This project is expected to be completed in late October. Some work, such as final paving, will be dependent on weather conditions as we approach the fall season.
Starting today several high priority culverts at multiple locations along U.S. Highway 95, State Highway 8, and State Highway 3 will be rehabilitated. To extend the culverts’ service lives, they need to be repaired.
The repairs will be conducted in the following order and locations:
- SH-8 just past Troy at milepost 16
- SH-3 between Kendrick and Deary at milepost 27
- US-95 south of Grangeville and near White Bird Grade at mileposts 238 and 239
Motorists should exercise caution when traveling through the work zones. Crews will try to minimize impacts to traffic and most of the work should be off the roadway.
Each culvert should take about a week to complete before crews move on to the next one. All of the culvert repairs are estimated to take about a month to complete.
Culvert liners will be installed, and scour holes will be repaired. In addition, some trees may be removed, and rock will be placed to armor the inlets and outlets. This work will ultimately extend their useful life, avoiding more extensive repairs and disruptions to traffic in the future.
Live traffic impacts across the region can be found by visiting 511.idaho.gov. Travelers can also dial 5-1-1 or download the app.
The Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) is beginning construction to widen Interstate 15 (I-15) to three lanes in each direction between the Northgate and Fort Hall interchanges to accommodate projected increases in traffic volumes. This Leading Idaho multi-year project includes widening I-15, constructing a median barrier to separate opposing lanes of traffic and reconstructing bridge structures, including overpasses and underpasses, to accommodate the additional lanes.
Motorists can expect to see traffic control devices in the project area as early as Monday morning. Work has been phased to maintain two lanes of traffic in each direction during the day for most of the project. However, motorists should be aware some nighttime work will require single-lane closures.
This fall, crews will shift traffic to create the space they need to build a median wall, reconstruct structures, and demolish and reconstruct the existing northbound lanes of the interstate.
During construction, motorists should expect:
- Nighttime work begins the week of August 19 and will continue for the first couple weeks of construction. Work will occur from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. Nighttime single-lane closures may happen occasionally after this period.
- Daytime work is expected to begin early this fall and will occur between the hours of 7 a.m. and 6 p.m.
- Lane restrictions will occur on I-15. Most work requiring lane restrictions is anticipated to occur at night.
- Ramp adjustments will occur at the Fort Hall Interchange (Exit 80) to match the grade of the new mainline.
- Variable speed limit signs will be installed in the project area, allowing ITD to lower speeds when crews are working near traffic.
Construction is anticipated to be completed in 2027. The project will increase capacity and improve safety on I-15 to serve East Idaho’s growing transportation volumes for years to come.
Due to the large project area, the widening of this stretch of I-15 has been divided into two projects with separate contractors. These contractors will work simultaneously to complete the projects. Western Construction, Inc. and Sundt Construction are the contractors for the north and south project areas, respectively.
Construction is being funded as part of Idaho Governor Brad Little’s Leading Idaho transportation funding initiative. The Leading Idaho initiative 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.
To sign up for project updates:
Starting next week, crews will begin utilizing temporary traffic signals on State Highway 200. These signals will operate 24 hours a day and reduce the roadway to one lane on the east end of the work zone.
The temporary traffic signals are expected to be in place until for approximately two weeks as crews work to construct a new embankment along the south shoulder of the highway and create the space necessary to expand the highway to include a new center turn lane.
This work also includes milling down through the existing eastbound lane to tie the new and original roadway surfaces together. Available space for through traffic will be limited to a single lane warranting the use of temporary signals around the clock, even outside of working hours. Previously the roadway has only been reduced to one lane during working hours with traffic returned to its normal configuration during nights and weekends.
During this time drivers should continue to expect delays, especially during peak times of the morning and evening commute.
Crews remain mindful of congestion and will take all reasonable steps to minimize the amount of delay drivers experience.
The Idaho Transportation Department appreciates the ongoing patience of motorists throughout this process. The new roadway will deliver a significantly improved corridor to the Kootenai community later this fall.
Once this phase of work is complete both temporary signals will be removed; however, there may be a possibility for intermittent, short term flagging operations after the removal of the signals.
By mid-September motorists can expect notable improvement in the ease of mobility through the construction zone.
This project is on track for final completion of all phases by mid- to late-October.
Starting the week of August 19 crews will return to the Long Bridge in Sandpoint and begin resurfacing the roadway. The driving surface was ground down earlier this spring to increase traction and make it safer for travel.
Work will occur overnight Monday through Friday, running from 7:30 p.m. to 6 a.m. with an expected completion date in mid-September.
During nighttime construction hours traffic will be reduced to a single, alternating lane with flaggers and pilot cars guiding motorists safely through the work zone. Drivers should expect nighttime delays throughout the month and plan ahead.
As a reminder, drivers are encouraged to slow down through work zones and stay alert behind the wheel for the safety of our crews.
Motorists can utilize the Idaho 511 system for real-time updates about ongoing traffic impacts in the area.
Beginning this morning, traffic patterns are changing at the System Interchange in Pocatello. Traffic using the southbound entrance ramp from Northgate can now merge with the new southbound alignment and will no longer be detoured through the Interstate 86 Chubbuck Exit before returning to Interstate 15.
In addition, southbound I-15 traffic wishing to travel west on I-86 will now drive over the new Chubbuck bridge before exiting to the right.
Motorists are encouraged to keep up-to-date via https://511.idaho.gov or the 511 app to keep track of project detours. Project details are available here on ITD’s projects website —https://itdprojects.idaho.gov/pages/i-86i-15-system-interchange
Any improvement to the 511 Idaho Traveler Information System represents a customer-service milestone for the thousands of Gem State drivers who have signed up for alerts through the system. One of the improvements from this past year also benefits ITD’s internal customers – engineers, inspectors, project managers, and maintenance personnel.
The improvement involves including an “end of project” notification via email and text, so users know how long the project will be impacting their commute or drive. If the project goes beyond the time expected, that information is also relayed. The email notification was accomplished fairly easily, but the text notification involves an update from the 511 vendor, which should be done within a few weeks.
The 511 user can signify the area they want notifications for by drawing it on a map once they log in to their account. “So if you wanted to know of any work within a 50-mile radius of your commute route, for instance, you could do that,” says 511 Coordinator Barton Phelps. The map to the left shows a “boundary” map selected in the system.
In addition to alerting users as to the end date for projects, an improvement was also added that provides a notice of upcoming projects that could impact the travel area up to 72 hours in advance of the start of the work.
Sections of State Highway 3 and U.S. Highway 12 remain closed as part of the ongoing emergency response as several wildfires sparked by Wednesday’s lightning storm continue to burn across North Central Idaho. All lanes on SH-3 are closed from Julietta to Arrow. US 12 remains closed from Spalding to Peck at the time of this release.
For current information, please continue to reference the following sources below:
Status of the fires:
Local sheriffs are responsible for ordering evacuations:
ITD resources and personnel have been mobilized from Coeur d’Alene to Lewiston to assist with the fires. Coordination with county and state law enforcement partners continues as well.
The safety of the public is a priority so please avoid the area. Therefore, only essential travel at this time is encouraged. The department and first responders appreciate your cooperation during this dynamic and evolving situation.
