Two highways west of Kamiah were closed until further notice due to rockfall and flooding. State Highway 64 is closed from milepost 24 to milepost 30, and State Highway 162 is closed from milepost 14 to milepost 22.
SH-64 and SH-162 closed last night. Besides the significant debris, the road has received structural damage from the washout.
“Crews have been working hard since late last night to clear dozens of debris flows,” Operations Engineer Jared Hopkins said. “Please watch for our operators staffing the barricades and be prepared to turn around or find an alternate route.”
Travelers between Nez Perce and Kamiah are advised to use U.S. Highway 12 and U.S. Highway 95.
Updates on these closures will be posted to 511.idaho.gov. Travelers can also dial 5-1-1 or download the app.
Construction season is a time that brings mixed feelings for a lot of Idaho drivers. While road construction leads to improved roads that benefit all Idahoans, work zones can be bothersome and even dangerous if drivers aren’t paying attention.
Today the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) is joining with states across the country for National Work Zone Awareness Week (NWZAW). From April 15-19, we raise awareness for the start of construction season and encourage safe driving through work zones.
“Driving cautiously in highway work zones helps families,” said ITD’s Chief Deputy/Chief Operations Officer Dan McElhinney. “Travelers, workers and their family members benefit when we reduce crash risks by safely driving with awareness. Employees are focused on road or bridge tasks to help improve the quality of life for Idahoans, and driver alertness near road work is how we help them. We encourage being an engaged driver to keep everyone work zone safe and for all of us to get home each day.”
Driving engaged, free from distractions and actively scanning the road ahead, is extra important in work zones due to narrowed lanes, traffic pattern shifts, and uneven road surfaces.
What many people fail to recognize is most people killed in work zone crashes are drivers and passengers. Idaho Office of Highway Safety (OHS) data shows that from 2018-2022 there were 3,315 crashes in work zones in Idaho. During that period 32 people were killed, all of them were in vehicles.
“When you’re behind the wheel of a vehicle, it is essential to remember that the workers in construction zones have families and friends who love them, and they have entire lives they’re living too,” said the Idaho Association of General Contractors in a statement. “Driving recklessly is selfish, and we all must do our part to ensure the safety of the hardworking members of our community out on the roads.”
In Southwest Idaho, there are several construction zones ongoing or planned to start this summer. Drivers should be aware of the following areas:
Advice for drivers as work zone season begins across the state:
- Use Idaho 511 to check your route for work zones before you depart.
- Slow down while traveling through work zones, paying close attention to signs and signals.
- Pay close attention to road workers and flaggers – give them extra room, always slow when approaching them, and be prepared to stop if necessary.
- Be aware of the other vehicles around you, including other cars and commercial vehicles that have larger blind spots and longer stopping distances.
- Rear-end crashes are common in work zones – obey all speeds, avoid distractions, and always maintain extra space between your vehicle and the one in front of you.
- Wear your seatbelt. While you may be driving carefully you can’t control the behavior of other drivers.
Approximately 10 bridges across North Central Idaho are slated for repair and preservation work this spring, with work first beginning Monday at the bridge on State Highway 6 over the Palouse River near Harvard.
Delays for all of the bridge work this spring will be minimal, but drivers should use caution when crews are working on the bridge decks.
Surface treatments will extend the life and improve the riding surfaces of the bridge decks. Concrete waterproofing treatments will also be applied to various components of the bridges for enhanced preservation.
The bridges are in Latah, Nez Perce, Clearwater, and Idaho counties respectively:
- State Highway 14 over the South Fork of the Clearwater River
- State Highway 11 over Jim Ford Creek
- SH-11 over Orofino Creek
- SH-11 over Quartz Creek
- SH-6 over the Palouse River
- State Highway 8 over Paradise Creek
- U.S. Highway 95 over Palouse River
- US-95 over the South Fork of the Palouse River
- US-95 over Cow Creek
- US-95 over Paradise Creek
Construction will conclude by the end of June. 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.
Is your Commercial Driver Medical Examiner’s Certificate (Form MCSA-5876) coming from an FMCSA-registered medical examiner? As of February, medical examiners are required to register with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Using a medical provider who is not on FMCSA’s national registry could lead to a downgrade of your commercial driver’s license (CDL) if it is not fixed within 45 days.
The Idaho Transportation Department has received a few Medical Examiner’s Certificates from providers that have been removed from the registry. Those drivers who didn’t use a registered provider will need to book new appointments with someone on the registry and submit a new Form MCSA-5876 to ITD.
Save yourself time and hassle by looking up registered providers on FMCSA’s website before booking an appointment nationalregistry.fmcsa.dot.gov/home.
The Idaho Transportation Department will close State Highway 16 between Johns Avenue and Cherry Lane in Emmett this Saturday.
The SH-16 overnight closure will begin at 7 p.m. April 13 and reopen to traffic the following day. The closure is necessary in order to replace an irrigation pipe beneath the highway. Traffic control will be in place with a detour routing traffic onto Johns Avenue and Cherry Lane.
Drivers can utilize the Idaho 511 system by phone, online, or through the app for updated closure information.
Beginning Wednesday evening and continuing through Friday morning, nighttime closures will be in place for a section of Interstate 15 and Interstate 86 at the System Interchange to allow crews to safely place girders for one of the new I-86 eastbound to I-15 northbound bridges.
The I-15 northbound to I-86 westbound ramp will be closed from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Wednesday and Thursday nights. Drivers looking to head west on I-86 from I-15 will be detoured to the Northgate Interchange.
Ongoing construction at the System Interchange will improve safety and mobility while replacing bridges built in the 1960s. Work is expected to be complete in 2025.
Motorists should exercise caution while travelling through the construction zone. Those wishing to receive email updates about the System Interchange project can sign up online.
Drivers can also check or download the 511 app for the last traffic conditions on all state highways and freeways.
The new traffic signal installed on State Highway 75 at Ohio Gulch Road north of Hailey is complete and will go live on Thursday, April 11.
The number of lanes remain the same and align with the signal lights. Drivers should be aware that the signal is there and active and be prepared to stop if needed.
The traffic light was originally slated to go live on April 15th, but crews were able to complete the project early.
For more information about projects in your area go to 511.idaho.gov.
Beginning today, April 8, Idahoans will need to dial new phone numbers to reach the Idaho Division of Motor Vehicles. The DMV has new phone service provider which required changing phone numbers. With the new provider, the DMV will be able to offer better customer service and faster calls.
The new numbers are as follows:
- The new DMV general customer line is 208-584-4343
- The new DMV commercial vehicle customer line is 208-872-3163
The “old” DMV number, 208-334-8000, will still be in service for Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) business not related to DMV. For a period of time, customers who call ITD looking for the DMV will be given the new number.
“We take about 2,000 calls a day at the DMV,” explained DMV administrator Lisa McClellan, “We’ve been working since early February, setting up and testing the new system to ensure a smooth transition for all those customers.”
The DMV’s business hours are 8 am to 5 pm Mountain Time, Monday to Friday. In addition to calling the DMV, customers can complete over a dozen transactions online at any time of day or night at dmv.idaho.gov, or visit a county office to have their questions answered in person. County business hours vary by location.
The Idaho Transportation Department is widening State Highway 53 and replacing existing sidewalks in Rathdrum to improve safety and mobility for drivers and pedestrians. Construction resumed in March and is anticipated to be complete by late fall. So far crews have intermittently reduced SH-53 to one lane with flaggers but that will be changing soon.
“In the next week, we plan to stripe the temporary lanes we built on the north side earlier this spring and shift traffic onto them,” Project Manager Steven Bakker said. “This will mean we can keep one lane open in each direction this year. Our goal is to get it done before the rain this weekend, but if it doesn’t happen tomorrow it’ll happen early next week.”
The widening between Rathdrum City Park (Latah Street) and Sylte Ranch Road will add a continuous center-turn lane and a designated right-turn lane to access Bingham Street. Both additions will keep through traffic moving while providing a safe area for turning drivers.
Drivers can expect the following conditions during construction:
- One lane of traffic in each direction on SH-53 from early April through completion
- Pedestrian access maintained through the work zone
- Speed limit reduced to 25 mph
- Short-term closures of side streets
- Reduced parking along SH-53
- Narrowed lanes
Later this year, Mill Street will be closed for up to four weeks as crews widen SH-53 past this intersection. Updates will be provided with more specific details regarding this closure at a later date. Drivers are asked to follow on-street signage for side-street closures, detour routes, and other construction impacts to safely pass through the work zone. Updates are also available on Idaho 511 to help drivers plan their travel.
“Our goal is to minimize impacts to local businesses and drivers,” Bakker said. “We are working to keep traffic flowing, while ultimately constructing a safer corridor for all users.”
The first stages of this project took place in 2023 as crews extended a culvert for Rathdrum Creek and built ditches to enhance drainage west of the city park.
This project is part of a larger effort to enhance safety on the SH-53 corridor between the Washington state line and Rathdrum. To sign up for email updates or for more information on this project or SH-53 corridor-wide plans, visit itdprojects.idaho.gov/pages/sh53corridor or email info@sh53corridor.com.
The Idaho Transportation Department will host a series of public meetings this month about two new planning environmental linkages studies on U.S. Highway 95 and State Highway 8. The purpose of these studies is to determine purposeful investments in the transportation network to improve safety and mobility and serve the communities and regional economic needs on US-95 between Snow Road and the Latah/Benewah County line, and on SH-8 between the Washington state line and Troy. Community members are invited to meet with the study team, review and comment on the draft Purpose and Need Statements, and provide suggestions for potential improvements.
The meetings will take place:
- Tuesday, April 9 from 4:30 – 7 p.m.
- Potlatch Jr.-Sr. High School, Multipurpose Room (130 6th St., Potlatch ID)
- Wednesday, April 10 from 4:30 – 7 p.m.
- Best Western Plus University Inn (1516 West Pullman Rd, Moscow ID)
- Thursday, April 11 from 4:30 – 7 p.m.
- Troy Elementary School, Gymnasium (103 Trojan Dr., Troy ID)
- Online, from April 9 – 23
“Community input is a fundamental part of this early process,” said ITD Project Engineer Janet Zarate. “This is just the first of many opportunities that will be available to the community to participate and provide feedback on these projects.”
ITD will use community input to help identify and develop potential improvements and alternatives for the study areas. ITD will host another series of public meetings to share those ideas in early 2025.
More information about the studies is available at itdprojects.idaho.gov/pages/sh8-us95-pel.
