Crews will start paving nearly five miles of US-12 west of Orofino this Thursday, September 19. They are expected to remain on site until the middle of October, though traffic impacts after paving will be minimal.
Replacing deteriorating pavement from Big Canyon Road to Tuning Drive is estimated to take one week, with drivers guided by a pilot car through the single-lane work zone.
Work will take place during daylight hours, and the highway will open fully at night.
Other weather-dependent work includes adding rumble strips and pavement marking. Earlier this year, guardrail was replaced and signage was updated in advance of paving.
Work has started to further connect Garwood and Athol by building nine miles of a paved shared use path along the east side of US-95 to tie into existing facilities.
Construction will last until late October with minimal impacts to drivers. A shoulder or lane closure on US-95 near Garwood in late September might be necessary for guardrail work along the highway.
The new path is planned to be 12 feet wide and will allow bicyclists and pedestrians to reach Farragut State Park and Silverwood from Coeur d’Alene.
Other project features include flashing beacons and raised concrete refuge islands at crossings near Abbott Road interchange, Bunco Road interchange, Parks Road and Idaho Highway 54.
A small portion of the path near Garwood will not be built until the new overpass is constructed in 2020/2021. Until that section is built, pedestrians and cyclists are encouraged to use Pope Road to access the next section.
For more information, visit itdprojects.org/us95garwoodpath.
Due to inclement weather, the traffic detour planned for Wednesday of this week has been rescheduled for the early morning hours of Thursday, September 12. This detour will affect motorists heading eastbound on Interstate 84 from Burley toward Pocatello. During this time, crews will work to place concrete on the deck of the newly constructed steel girder bridge.
Weather permitting, this temporary traffic pattern is expected to be in effect between the hours of 2 a.m. and 7 a.m.
This is part of the Salt Lake Interchange replacement project, underway since May of last year. Construction is scheduled to finish by late 2020.
Drivers should still anticipate reduced speeds through the work zone and pay close attention to signage which will be in place to safely direct motorists through the area.
Wadsworth Brothers Construction, of Draper, Utah is the prime contractor on this project.
Work is expected to occur this Wednesday, Sept. 11 on the Interstate 84 eastbound 216 on-ramp near Declo. The Idaho Transportation Department will mill off the existing pavement and inlay the area with new asphalt to improve the overall condition of the roadway.
The eastbound 216 interchange on-ramp will be closed while this work takes place. Motorists will need to utilize on-ramp 208 or 211 for eastbound I-84 access near Declo.
Repairs are anticipated to take place between 8:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. and be complete within a day.
Interstate 84 will be closed overnight between the Karcher/Midland and Northside interchanges on Monday, Sept. 16 through Thursday, Sept. 19. The closures will allow crews to safely remove the wooden forms that temporarily supported the new bridge deck this summer.
- Westbound I-84 will be closed for two nights – Sept. 16 and Sept. 17. Each night I-84 will be closed from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.
- Eastbound I-84 will be closed for two nights – Sept. 18 and Sept. 19. Each night I-84 will be closed from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.
During the four overnight closures, motorists will exit I-84 at Karcher/Midland or Northside and follow a detour along Karcher Road. Flaggers will direct traffic. View the detour map.
Lane restrictions and flaggers will also be in place on the Northside Boulevard between the ramps each night while crews begin to work on the new bridge.
The new Karcher Overpass is on schedule to re-open later this fall. Reconstruction of the Northside Interchange has begun and will continue through early 2021.
For more information about the reconstruction of I-84 in Canyon County, visit itdprojects.org/84Corridor. To receive construction updates; text 84corridor to 555888. “Drive Idaho,” ITD’s new podcast series on all things I-84 in Canyon County, is available for download on Spotify and Apple Podcast and other major podcast sharing sites.
BOISE — This summer, 91 people died as a result of traffic crashes according to preliminary data from the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD). This is down from the summer of 2018, when 101 people were killed in crashes during the same time period.
The summer months typically bring with them an uptick in deadly crashes both in Idaho and nationally. Because of this trend, the period of time between Memorial Day Weekend and Labor Day Weekend is often referred to as the 100 Deadliest Days of Summer Driving.
“Summer driving is a big concern of ours,” said Highway Safety Manager John Tomlinson. “This is why we work so closely with law enforcement agencies and other partners throughout the state to promote safe, engaged driving.”
This summer, the Office of Highway Safety (OHS) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration funded four high visibility enforcements. During these different enforcement periods, law enforcement agencies were provided grant funding to put extra officers on the roads, looking for seat belt violations and aggressive and impaired drivers.
In addition to these grant-funded mobilizations, several media campaigns ran statewide encouraging everyone on the roads to make safe choices.
“It’s so important to get these messages out to the public,” Tomlinson said. “Our law enforcement partners do wonderful work but they can’t be everywhere. If we are going to prevent these fatal crashes, we need drivers to make smart and safe choices.”
100 Deadliest Days at a Glance:*
• The majority of the 91 people killed in crashes were in passenger vehicles.
– 62 Automobile
– 17 Motorcycle
– 6 Other (ATV/UTV)
– 4 Pedestrian
– 2 Pedacycle
• 75 people died in crashes on rural roads and 16 people were killed on urban roads.
• In the 62 passenger vehicle fatalities, 28 people were not wearing seatbelts.
• Failure to maintain a lane was a contributing factor in 23 fatalities.
• Impairment was a contributing factor in 17 fatalities.
• 13 fatalities involved an aggressive-driving behavior.
• 8 fatalities involved inattentive driving.
*Data is preliminary and may be subject to change.
Work is expected to occur Thursday, Sept. 5 on the Interstate 84 westbound Exit 208 off-ramp near Burley. The Idaho Transportation Department will mill off the existing pavement and inlay the area with new asphalt to improve the overall condition of the roadway.
The Exit 208 westbound off-ramp will be closed while this work takes place, so motorists will need to utilize Exit 211 or Exit 216 for access to Burley.
Repairs are anticipated to take place between 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. and be complete within a day.
There will be temporary closures on Idaho Highway 55 at the Snake River Bridge in Marsing while girders are placed for the new bridge.
Girders are large horizontal beams that support the surface of the bridge. Each girder weighs 141,000 pounds and is 148 feet long. Current plans call for girders to be placed overnight on Tuesday Sept. 3, Thursday Sept. 5, Friday Sept. 13, and Monday Sept. 16. This is subject to change.
Sunny Slope Rd. southbound will be reduced to one lane between Lowell and True road. The lanes will be restricted from noon to 2:00 am each night to stage the bridge girders. Placement of the girders will generally occur between the hours of 10:00 pm and 2:00 am. Traffic will be stopped for up to thirty minutes while each girder is placed. Each night up to three girders will be placed.
This work is part of a two year-long project to replace the Snake River Bridge in Marsing The project will improve safety and driving conditions on the bridge, which is the primary river crossing for the area. More information can be found at https://itdprojects.org/marsing55improvements/.
With shorter daylight hours, construction delays on US-95 in Culdesac Canyon near Winchester are shifting earlier and expected to affect evening commutes as fall conditions require a change in the contractor’s blasting schedule.
Since construction began in April to extend a passing lane through the rocky canyon, closures for blasting have typically been scheduled to start at 7 p.m., but dwindling daylight now requires blasting to occur before sunset.
Next week, rock excavation and cleanup activities will begin at 6:30 p.m., and the following week they will begin at 6 p.m.
Temporary closures are still expected to last up to 1.5 hours, with up to three closures possible each week. They are advertised on 511.idaho.gov and on message signs stationed near the project.
Work this season is expected to end by November, with the entire project scheduled for completion in fall 2020.
The signal at US-95 and ID-53 is planned for removal starting Monday, August 26 to allow construction of a new interchange at that location to improve traffic flow between Garwood and Sagle.
View a video of the design for the US-95, ID-53 interchange.
The removal process will take approximately three nights, during which US-95 will be reduced to one lane in each direction from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. Idaho Highway 53 will also be closed to the west of the intersection as crews replace the bridge over the railroad and realign the highway to tie into the new interchange.
Starting Monday night, traffic will be detoured around the ID-53 closure via Old US-95 to Garwood Road to access US-95. This closure is expected to last until fall 2020 when the new railroad bridge and interchange open to traffic.
Government Way will continue to be closed at the US-95 intersection.
This project is part of a larger vision to maximize mobility on US-95 between Garwood Road and Sagle. Since construction began in July, a temporary signal has been installed at ID-53 and Ramsey Road to accommodate the change in traffic patterns, and ID-53 has been widened.
In 2020 and 2021, frontage roads and an overpass at Garwood Road will be constructed as part of this project. Total improvements, though not all awarded to contractors, are funded primarily with an estimated $41 million from the GARVEE program and another $13.9 million in federal aid.
Email updates are available at itdprojects.org/us95id53.
