Construction on US-12 in north-central Idaho to start April 16

Work to construct nearly $17 million in infrastructure and safety improvements on US-12 in north-central Idaho will begin Monday, April 16. Work is scheduled to be completed in October.

Improvements include the replacement of two old bridges over Maggie and Fish creeks and the repaving of more than 50 miles of the highway between Lowell and the Idaho-Montana border. The Maggie Creek Bridge was built in 1949, and the Fish Creek Bridge in 1952.

Construction will begin first on Fish Creek Bridge on April 16, and work is expected to start on Maggie Creek Bridge by April 30. Paving work is not scheduled to start until June.

Temporary signals will facilitate alternating, one-way traffic over the bridges during construction. Travelers can expect short delays during bridgework, and once paving starts, they should expect delays of more than two hours throughout the entire corridor.

Concrete Placing Company will replace Fish Creek Bridge, and Braun-Jensen Inc. will replace Maggie Creek Bridge for a combined cost of $3.6 million. Knife River Corporation will repave the highway for $13.3 million.

To learn more about construction and subscribe to updates, visit itd.idaho.gov/US12. For immediate construction impacts on this and other routes, visit 511.idaho.gov.

Day work begins on April 9 to resurface I-90 in CDA

Daytime construction work on Interstate 90 between Northwest Boulevard and Ninth Street will begin on Monday, April 9. Construction will last until October.

This project will resurface the interstate, increase height clearances of the bridges and improve traveler safety with new guardrail, signs and lighting.

Two lanes will remain open in each direction, but commuters can expect speed reductions and narrow lanes.

Later this season, there will be intermittent ramp closures during the day and at night as crews work on the shoulders and repave several ramps along the interstate, including those at Northwest Boulevard and Fourth Street. The surface of the westbound Centennial Bridge will also be repaired.

Crews will work at night, during the day and most Saturdays throughout the project. Ramp closures will be announced through roadside signs, 511 and a weekly e-newsletter.

This is the final year of a two-year project to resurface and reconstruct the interstate between Northwest Boulevard and Sherman Avenue. Last year, the interstate was reconstructed between Sherman Avenue and Ninth Street, and the eastbound Centennial Bridge received minor maintenance work.

Interstate Concrete and Asphalt will perform the work for $23.5 million.

To subscribe to the newsletter on construction impacts in the Coeur d’Alene area, contact Megan Sausser at Megan.Sausser@itd.idaho.gov.

Preservation work on area bridges will require full closure of Emerald Street overpass in Boise for one month beginning in mid-April

Preservation work on numerous Treasure Valley bridges will begin this spring. Work on the Emerald Street bridge between Cole Road and Curtis Road over I-184 (the Connector) will require a full closure.

Improvements will protect and preserve bridge life.

Construction on Emerald is scheduled for mid-April through late May. During construction, the bridge will be closed to automobile traffic. Pedestrian and bicycle access will remain open over the bridge. Access to local streets, homes and business in the area will be maintained.

Schedule may change due to weather.

During construction, the detour for Emerald will be Fairview Avenue or Franklin Street via Cole and Curtis. Noise and light impacts are anticipated in the work zone. Overnight lane closures on the Connector will occur near the bridge.

Preservation work on other bridges elsewhere will not require full closures. Motorists can expect lane reductions and reduced speeds in the following locations, April through May:
– I-84, Meridian Road Interchange
– I-84, Broadway Avenue Interchange
– I-84, Cole-Overland Interchange
– I-84, Gowen Road Interchange
– Broadway Avenue, Boise River Bridge

Cannon Builders is the contractor on this $2.7 million project. For up-to-date construction information, visit 511.idaho.gov.

Public invited to meeting on April 12 about Strong Creek Bridge replacement in North Idaho

The Idaho Transportation Department will host a public meeting April 12 to share plans to replace the bridge over Strong Creek in East Hope on the business route of Idaho Highway 200.

The meeting will be held from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Memorial Community Center at 415 Wellington Place. The public is welcome to arrive at any time to talk to project staff and provide comments.

Work to replace the bridge is scheduled for summer 2020. Construction will likely require the complete shutdown of the bridge, with traffic currently planned to detour on ID-200 around the work zone for most of construction.

Comments will be collected from April 12-26, 2018. They can be emailed to the project manager Lee Bernardi at Lee.Bernardi@ITD.idaho.gov or mailed to the office at 600 West Prairie Avenue, Coeur d’Alene, ID 83815.

Those who cannot attend may learn more about the project and comment online by visiting www.itd.idaho.gov/d1, selecting projects and finding “ID-200B: Strong Creek Bridge.”

Westbound I-84 construction between Kimberly/Hansen and Ridgeway Road exits starts April 2

The week of April 2, pavement rehabilitation is expected to begin in eastern Jerome County along the westbound lanes of Interstate 84 between the exits at Kimberly/Hansen (Exit 182) and Ridgeway Road (Exit 194).

This is part of a 12-mile reconstruction project anticipated to last through mid-November.

During construction, traffic on I-84 will be reduced to one lane in each direction and some ramp closures will occur. Drivers should expect reduced speeds throughout the project and watch for crews during working hours – Monday through Saturday, 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Additionally, six I-84 westbound on- and off-ramps will be reconstructed throughout the boundaries of the project. Crews will also hydro-blast and overlay bridge decks, replace existing pipes throughout the work zone with treated pipes that increase water flow and are longer-lasting, and excavate dirt below the overpasses to increase overhead clearance by as much as two feet.

Knife River Corp. Northwest from Boise is the contractor for this $23 million project.

Drivers are advised to check 511.idaho.gov for updates during construction.

Reconstruction of the St. Joe River Bridge in St. Maries will require a lane closure soon

Construction on the west half of the St. Joe River Bridge could begin as early as Monday, April 2 after the completion of the bridge’s substructure and prompt the closure of one lane. This is the next phase of a project that began last fall to improve safety for travelers crossing the river.

Travelers can expect up to 15-minute delays while Idaho Highway 3 is reduced to one lane and one pedestrian path over the bridge. Temporary signals will direct traffic.

Once the west half of the bridge is completed in mid to late July, crews will work to complete the east half of the bridge. When crews start work on the east half of the river bridge, they will also begin work on the railroad bridge, which will be completely closed during its reconstruction.

Riverside Avenue, which runs underneath the bridge, will continue to be closed for safety reasons between First and Fourth Streets until further notice. Railroad Avenue, which intersects the highway between the two bridges, is being reconstructed. The road will be closed between ID-3 and Fourth Street until the west half of the St. Joe River Bridge is completed.

The overall project is scheduled to be finished in spring 2019 and includes designing and replacing the bridges over the St. Joe River and the St. Maries Railroad Company tracks.

Upon completion, both bridges will include one lane in each direction with a shoulder and sidewalk on each side. Work will also include reconstructing the highway to match the bridges, replacing guardrail and signs and improving the intersections of Railroad Avenue and Meadowhurst Road with the highway.

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

Record Steel Construction Inc. and J-U-B ENGINEERS Inc. will complete the work for $17.3 million.

ITD phishing scheme serves as a reminder to stay vigilant against outside cyber threats

In recent weeks, an Idaho Transportation Department Division of Motor Vehicles employee email account was compromised through an external phishing attempt.

In early January, ITD learned that an unauthorized individual used a phishing scheme to gain potential access to an employee’s email account. ITD secured the employee’s email account, reported the incident to law enforcement and the Department of Administration, and engaged a leading computer forensic firm to assist the agency.

In this incident, the attack came out of Nigeria and convinced an employee to give up their credentials.

The initial phase of the investigation determined the information of some customers could have been accessed by a third-party. Since that time, no abuse or theft had been reported. The investigation also determined that access was limited to a single employee email box and 89 customer’s potential information. ITD contacted potentially affected customers offering free credit monitoring.

This event is a good reminder that everyone is under constant threat whether at work or at home to this type of event. Think before you click and if you feel something isn’t right in the workplace, reach out to cyber security.

For more information, please contact ITD Communication Manager Vincent Trimboli at 208.334.8817.

Kootenai County partners with ITD to build new path along US-95

Kootenai County signed a maintenance agreement yesterday with the Idaho Transportation Department to maintain a multi-use path that will extend along 19 miles of US-95 in northern Idaho.

Per the agreement, ITD will reconstruct approximately eight miles of the existing path along the highway from Appleway Avenue to Garwood Road during the summer of 2019. The department will also construct a new path from Garwood Road north to the county line, with construction anticipated in 2020 and 2021.

The entire path will cost $3.2 million to rebuild and construct out to the county line. The county will receive $50,000 from ITD to help with future maintenance responsibilities.

Funds to reconstruct the existing path will come from a $5.1 million FASTLANE grant, which was awarded to ITD and the Kootenai Metropolitan Planning Organization in October 2016 to optimmize the US-95 corridor. To enhance mobility and safety through the corridor, grant funding will also be used to achieve uniform signal spacing, which will require the addition and elimination of some signals.

As ITD continues to design projects to expand US-95 to four lanes, the trail could be extended north to Sagle. The department is currently working with local jurisdictions to construct a new path from the Kootenai County line to Trails End Road in Bonner County as part of future improvements.

State code prevents the department from building paths without first finding local jurisdictions committed to maintaining them. The trail between Appleway Avenue and Garwood Road, which was built in the 1980s, predates this policy.

The agreement with the county eliminates the department’s last path to maintain in the state.

Pavement restoration to begin from Payette to Weiser in April

Pavement restoration on 12 miles of US-95, from the Payette north city limit to the Weiser River Bridge, is set to begin early April 2018.

Completion is anticipated by June. The project will extend the life of the road and provide for a smoother ride.

Construction crews plan to complete the project in two phases. In early April (Phase 1), traffic will be reduced to one lane with a pilot car leading motorists through the work zone. Traffic will return to normal conditions in mid/late April.

In early May (Phase 2), crews will return to complete the restoration. Traffic will again be reduced to one lane with a pilot car. During both phases, motorists should anticipate delays of 15 minutes or more.

Work is scheduled Monday-Friday, 24 hours a day. Night work is anticipated. Saturday work is permitted, although not anticipated. During weekends, traffic will return to normal conditions with reduced speeds.
Area businesses and residents may experience construction-related noise and lights.

Western Construction is the contractor on this $6.1 million project.

For up-to-date construction information, visit 511.idaho.gov.

Monet flutters record 662 miles from Idaho to California

A monarch butterfly named Monet, reared by Melinda Lowe of ITD’s Environmental Section, recently made history by completing a flight from Lowe’s Treasure Valley home to a swimming pool in California.

The monarch (Danaus plexippus) set out from Boise on Sept. 4, 2017, and was rescued from the pool March 2, 2018.

Biologists studying the movements of the declining species tracked the monarch by the research tag placed on her wing (see photo below). It is the first documented case of a monarch, tagged as part of Washington State University’s program, to make the journey from Idaho to California.

The monarch was reared in Idaho by Lowe, who brought her home in early August 2017. Lowe had a butterfly cage specially built for her, where Monet grew fat and happy. eating freshly picked showy milkweed leaves (see photo at right).

After a month, Monet emerged from her chrysalis and became a California-bound butterfly that Lowe released that evening, just four hours later.

“She immediately flew up and out of the yard and toward the west. “I flapped my hand waving goodbye. Such a bittersweet moment,” Lowe said.

The butterfly, officially named B1861, flew approximately 662 miles southwest and into southern California before settling in the greater Santa Barbara area.

“This is big news. Monet is the first Idaho monarch in my study to be recovered in California, and at six months of age, she is the longest-lived monarch documented in this Washington State University tagging effort,” said Dr. David James, an associate professor at WSU specializing in invertebrate conservation. “Monet will go down in Idaho monarch history, that’s for sure.”

The California homeowner found the butterfly a few hundred yards from a known overwintering site where the female butterfly likely spent the winter. After fishing her from the pool, the homeowner released the butterfly, which apparently was fine after the near-death experience. The homeowner then contacted Dr. James, who in turn contacted Lowe.

“Hopefully, she is now heading inland from Goleta, California, with dry wings seeking milkweed to lay her eggs,” said Dr. James.

The monarch butterfly is a national priority species for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Community-based projects in Idaho’s Treasure Valley and throughout the country are helping to enhance and restore habitat to benefit the monarch. This beautiful orange and black species is known for migration between its over-wintering grounds in central Mexico and California, to its spring and summer breeding grounds in the northern and interior portions of the United States and Canada. This butterfly requires milkweed plants to reproduce, and female monarchs will only lay eggs on milkweeds. Native milkweeds are the primary food sources for monarch caterpillars.

Monarch butterflies and other pollinators are in trouble. The decline of these species may be attributed to habitat fragmentation, urban and agricultural development, pesticide use and lack of nectar plants for food. In the case of the migratory monarch, the lack of native milkweed is believed to be a critical limiting factor.

Learn more about our efforts to save the monarch at https://www.fws.gov/savethemonarch/