Idaho Transportation Department staff joined the Nez Perce Tribe on October 24 to celebrate the near completion of a new interchange at Aht’Wy Plaza on U.S. Highway 95/U.S. Highway 12 near Lewiston.
The interchange started construction in May of 2023 and is expected to open up to traffic later this month.
The tribe took the lead on organizing the event, which included Nez Perce drummers from Lighting Creek, a ceremonial demonstration of Nez Perce horsemanship across the overpass and a prayer from Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee Chaplain Mary Jane Miles. Transportation Board Member Gary Osborn, ITD District Engineer Doral Hoff and Design Construction Engineer Jesse Webb spoke at the event, along with several guests from the tribe and federal partners.
Many speakers referred to the extensive partnership on the project, which dated back to the 1990s when the tribe first began developing the parcel that now includes the Clearwater River Casino and Lodge, a gas station and RV park. Other improvements were built before the actual interchange, such as the installation of turn bays and lighting, but drivers continued to experience challenges safely accessing the highway from the plaza—seven people died in collisions at the entrances since 1997.
The project team, led by NPT Transportation Manager Mary Beth Clark, JUB Project Manager John Watson and former ITD planner Ken Helm, finished the design in 2019, opting for the diamond style to avoid environmental concerns that had slowed progress on the design for many years.
Construction was initially made possible in September 2020 by $19 million in BUILD grant funding but as ITD and the NPT worked to execute the agreement, again the project encountered challenges—this time in the form of rising costs for essential materials. By April 2022, the tribe and ITD had announced the joint project would be delayed while they applied for additional funding from the Bureau of Indian Affairs Department of Tribal Transportation Bridge Funding. That gap funding was approved in November 2022, and Knife River Corporation received the bid in spring of 2023 for $24.77 million.
“This project shows what collaboration and perseverance can accomplish,” Hoff said. “The single mindedness of all involved to see this through to its fruition goes to show that we had a solid team, and although there were many hurdles, there were none that couldn’t be overcome.”