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The Idaho Transportation Department advises drivers to plan ahead for traffic delays and detours in St. Maries on Idaho Highway 3 as crews advance to the next phase of bridge reconstruction.

Beginning as early as Tuesday, Sept. 4, crews will close the bridge over the railroad and reopen the adjacent bridge over the St. Joe River to one lane in each direction.

Temporary signs will be installed along the detour through town to enhance safety and traffic flow. Closures will continue on Meadowhurst Drive east of its intersection with ID-3 as well as Riverside Avenue where it runs underneath the highway between First Street and Fourth Street.

These traffic changes are part of the ongoing project to upgrade two bridges in St. Maries. This phase of work includes completing the east half of the river bridge deck and reconstructing the railroad bridge.

The railroad bridge is anticipated to be closed through December, and the overall project is scheduled to be complete by spring 2019.

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.

Crews are working during daylight hours Monday through Saturday and Sundays as needed. Residents and businesses will continue to experience occasional noise, dust and vibration during that time.

Check 511 for traffic impacts or visit the “Projects” tab at itd.idaho.gov/d1 for more information.

Members of the public are also invited to contact the project team by calling the project hotline at 208-292-8515 or by emailing Gemma Puddy at gpuddy@langdongroupinc.com.

Overnight maintenance on the Cole Road and Overland Road intersection over Interstate 84 is scheduled to begin next week. Improvements will seal the road surface and preserve pavement life.

The contractor is permitted to work between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. and weekends. Traffic will be reduced to one lane in each direction on Cole and Overland, with flagger assistance. Motorists can expect periodic delays up to 15 minutes and reduced speeds in the work zone. 

Drivers are asked to slow down and pay attention when traveling in this work zone.

Work is anticipated through mid-September. For updated construction information, please check 511 before you head out.

Starting Monday, August 27, crews will begin constructing turn lanes at the intersection of Idaho Highway 53 and Chase Road west of Rathdrum.

Work will last up to one month as crews add a right-turn lane and a center-turn lane at the intersection. Crews are expected to be on site during the day from Monday through Friday, with some weekend work allowed. Travelers should expect speed reductions in the area and intermittent single lane closures.

Highway traffic in both directions will be stopped completely only when crews are removing about a dozen trees, which is necessary to construct the new right-turn lane.

For the latest traffic updates, check 511.

Beginning the week of August 27, crews will work to improve fish passage at Moose Creek near Elk City by replacing an aging culvert under Idaho Highway 14.

The old culvert is not large enough to accommodate the flow of water and allow fish to easily pass.

“At high water, the flow is constricted and funneled into the circular pipe, creating higher velocities like a spigot,” said Miranda Main, a project manager for the Watershed Division within the Nez Perce Tribe. “The culvert is currently considered a barrier to migration for spring chinook and steelhead, but the replacement should open access to upstream habitat.”

Main said all life stages of fish would be able to swim upstream, with other features of the new culvert providing them areas to rest.

This project was designed by ITD and is funded by the Nez Perce Tribe and the U.S. Forest Service.

Debco Construction will replace the culvert in the next two months for $500,000. During construction, travelers should expect alternating, one-way traffic through the work zone.

With Labor Day right around the corner, parents and children are likely counting down the days to the end of summer, but they should consider a different number: 86.

That’s at least how many people have died on Idaho routes so far during what is called the 100 Deadliest Days, or the time between Memorial Day and Labor Day when fatalities increase statewide ever year. Of those 86 fatalities, 10 were in the northern five counties.

Law enforcement provides safety data like this to the Idaho Transportation Department to help monitor highway conditions and plan for changes when possible. North of the Latah county border, ITD pays special attention to the following high-speed and congested areas: the intersections of Prairie Avenue and US-95, Prairie Avenue and ID-53, Prairie Avenue and ID-41, Hauser Lake Road and ID-53, and Ramsey Road and ID-53.

From adding turn lanes and to constructing new interchanges, ITD has plans to address safety concerns at these locations but wants drivers to exercise awareness and caution for the rest of this summer.

Engineers can design safer highways, and officers can patrol them, but what drivers do behind the wheel can affect their safety more than anything else on the road.

Be engaged, and drive well these last two weeks, Idaho.