Crews will begin sealcoating portions of US-12 and US-95 starting Wednesday, July 22 to protect the roadway surface and provide greater traction for motorists. This work is expected to extend into early August.
The work will take place in a 30-mile stretch of US-12, from Spalding Bridge to the west end of Orofino, and a five-mile stretch of US-95, from the Spalding Bridge to the west end of Aht’Wy Plaza. The work will begin near Orofino and progress west.
Delays of up to 15 minutes can be expected, with east- and westbound traffic reduced to one lane each through four-lane sections and all traffic reduced to one lane through two-lane sections during working hours. A pilot car will be used to safely guide traffic. It will be a “rolling” work zone, progressing in two-mile segments as the work moves.
Crews will work a weekday schedule of 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. No weekend work is anticipated but may be required in order to achieve a timely completion of the project.
Sealcoating is a surface treatment performed during the summer months to preserve and extend the life of Idaho’s roadways by applying a layer of oil and rock chips. The process requires hot temperatures and dry weather for rocks to properly adhere to the oil.
Rock chips placed during sealcoats have potential to cause windshield damage so drivers are cautioned to slow down when traveling to and from these areas.
The Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) is surveying the community this month in relation to plans for replacing the Clearwater Memorial Bridge on US-12 in Lewiston.
A survey will be open until August 3 at itdprojects.org/us12memorialbridge. The department will also conduct in-person surveys of pedestrians and bicyclists on the bridge this Sunday and Monday.
“We recognize that the Clearwater Memorial Bridge is an important asset to this community,” Project Manager Curtis Arnzen said. “As plans are finalized we will speak with stakeholders to learn how we can best accommodate them during construction.”
Construction will include building a new bridge deck over the existing piers. The new deck will feature the same number of lanes but also provide wider sidewalks, shoulders and a painted median.
Design plans will be completed in 2021, and construction is anticipated to begin in 2023.
On Monday (July 20) work in the median of Interstate 84 will require traffic to be intermittently delayed. This is part of the interstate rehabilitation project that has been underway since May of this year. Carefully controlled blasting is required to loosen the hard rock in the median.
“We completed crossovers earlier this month and are now moving into the next phase of the project which entails storm water and draining construction,” said ITD South-central Idaho Project Manager Brock Dillé. “This phase of the project requires us to blast portions of the median which will have a short term impact on traffic.”
For the safety of drivers, traffic must be stopped in the surrounding area while blasting is underway.
“There are four locations in the median that we need to address,” stated Dillé. “We expect these activities to take place on various days between July 20 to August 20. Blasting may produce delays for motorists up to 60 minutes although we anticipate the delays to be much shorter.”
In addition to traffic being stopped on I-84, the interstate on ramps at Exit 165 eastbound, 168 westbound and 173 westbound will also be closed while blasting occurs. A portion of the work will require closures on the north and south frontage roads (Bob Barton Road and East Frontage Road) as well.
After each blast, crews will ensure the roadway is safe and free of all debris before reopening the highway to traffic.
Dillé explains that timing of this work is very important. “We have to blast during daylight hours, but we are very conscious of the impact it will have on the traveling public, which is why we are undertaking this task in the evening when traffic on the interstate is past its peak hours.”
Blasting will not begin before 7:30 pm.
ITD is asking motorists to consider using alternate routes while this activity is underway. Electronic message boards and signage will be placed on the interstate several days in advance of each event. Motorists are advised to adhere to signs and pay attention to flaggers and pace cars that will be utilized to slow traffic on the interstate.
The general contractor is Western Construction of Boise.
Weather permitting, the Idaho Transportation Department will begin seal coating the road surface of several regional rest areas next week to preserve the pavement and provide better traction for motorists.
“Over the next three weeks, we will seal coat four different rest area locations on our state routes,” said ITD South-central Idaho Project Manager Sam Purser. “This will improve the area for travelers who use these facilities.”
While work is underway, the rest areas will be temporarily closed. Electronic message boards and barricades will be in place to notify traveling motorists. A list of anticipated closure dates for each location is as follows:
July 21-22: Timmerman Rest Area (Junction of Idaho Highway 75 and US-20), south of Bellevue
July 28-30: Bliss Rest Areas (Interstate 84), west of Bliss
July 30-31: Hagerman Rest Area (US-30), south of Hagerman
August 3-5: Cotterel Rest Areas (Interstate 84), north of Sublett
“In addition to the rest area parking lots, we will also be seal coating the on and off ramps and various short portions of I-84,” stated Purser.
Seal coating is a surface treatment performed during the summer months to preserve and extend the life of Idaho’s roadways by applying a layer of oil and rock chips. It also provides a skid-resistant surface for better vehicle traction.
The process requires hot temperatures and dry weather for rocks to properly adhere to the oil.
Rock chips placed during seal coats have potential to cause windshield damage so drivers are cautioned to slow down when traveling to and from these facilities. Motorcyclists are also encouraged to exercise extreme caution when traveling through these areas.
A pavement rehabilitation project in which crews will repair significant cracking, grind off the top layer of the roadway, and replace it with new paving material will start Monday (July 13) from Deary to Harvard on Idaho Highway 9. The work on this 13-mile project will provide a smoother, safer ride for motorists by eliminating cracks and ruts on the road’s surface.
During this project, crews are scheduled to work Monday through Saturday during daylight hours, but may be asked to work some nights to finish the job on time. Drivers can expect a “rolling” work zone, progressing in two-mile sections as the road work progresses.
Crews will finish by applying a double sealcoat on the new stretch of road to seal the surface and provide greater traction for drivers.
Knife River Construction is the prime contractor on this $1.5-million project.
The ramp at Sherman Avenue to head west on Interstate 90 will close on Monday, July 13 to allow crews to replace the westbound bridge over Pennsylvania Avenue. The closure is expected to be in place for three months.
“We have finished the other bridge for eastbound travelers, and now it’s time to switch,” project manager Shannon Stein said. “After looking at the angles needed to merge traffic from the Sherman on-ramp and bring them over to the other side, we decided it was safest to close it.”
Motorists wishing to access westbound I-90 will be detoured to 15th Street. The current detour for the closure of Pennsylvania Avenue that sends drivers to Elm Street to cross underneath the interstate will remain in place.
For drivers traveling on I-90, the two lanes of traffic will be shifted from the westbound lanes to the eastbound lanes and the newly finished bridge. This shift will happen in stages on Friday morning and Monday morning.
Work began in March to ensure continued safe travel by replacing both bridges, which were built in 1960. Replacement of the final bridge is planned for completion in October.
Dan McElhinney has been selected as the Idaho Transportation Department’s new Chief Operations Officer following a thorough national search. He is expected to begin August 10.
At ITD, McElhinney will be responsible for overseeing more than 12,000 lane miles of highways and roads, more than 1,800 bridges on the State Highway System, as well as the department’s Highway Construction & Operations and Highway Development areas, plus six district offices located in regions around the state.
McElhinney comes to ITD from the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), where he serves as District 10 Director in Stockton.
As District Director, he is responsible for overseeing more than 3,500 lane miles in eight counties, leading 600 employees and managing a nearly $2 billion capital program asset management plan and an annual operating budget of more than $150 million.
Prior to accepting the Stockton position, Dan served as the San Francisco Bay Area Chief Deputy District Director, where he led more than 3,000 employees and had oversight for a construction program in excess of $10 billion.
He is a licensed civil engineer who graduated from the Colorado School of Mines in 1987 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Engineering with Minors in Surveying and Metallurgy.
“One of the things about Dan that really impressed me was when he said a small culvert job in a remote and rural part of the state is just as important as a big construction project in the heart of a densely populated region of the state,” said ITD Director Brian Ness. “Idaho has a lot of those small, rural places, so it is important that the Chief Operations Officer bring the right mindset to work.”
As early as Tuesday of next week (July 7), traffic will shift on Interstate 84/86 at the Salt Lake Interchange project. Motorists traveling on I-84 toward Pocatello will no longer be crossed over to the westbound lanes; instead drivers traveling westbound on I-86 toward Burley will be crossed over to join them on the same set of lanes.
“Shifting all traffic off the westbound lanes to the eastbound lanes will allow for crews to work on that side of the highway,” ITD Project Manager Travis Hitchcock said. “This new traffic pattern is really a mirror image/reverse of what drivers were doing previously, and we anticipate it will be in place for approximately seven weeks.”
Traffic will remain reduced to a single lane in each direction, and the turn offs toward Salt Lake City will remain the same as before.
Rehabilitation of US-26/US-93 is expected to begin next Monday (July 6), south of Carey. Work will encompass approximately seven miles of highway (milepost 196 to 203) and provide a safer and smoother ride for motorists.
US-26/US-93 between Shoshone and Carey has seen several rehabilitation projects in recent years. This is one of three remaining projects that are programmed to address the area.
“We anticipate construction to last through August,” said ITD Project Inspector Chuck Sharp. “Working during the warm summer months will allow us to complete rehabilitation and also sealcoat the highway to help preserve the road during the upcoming winter season.”
While construction is underway, traffic on this section of highway will be reduced to a single lane. A pilot car will be utilized during working hours – Monday through Thursday from 7 am to 6 pm.
Motorists should anticipate reduced speeds and watch for workers and heavy equipment throughout the work zone.
The general contractor is Western Construction of Boise.
Black Cat Road will close beginning July 6 to all traffic between Larry Lane and Chinden Boulevard (US 20/26) and to through traffic between McMillan Road and Chinden, as crews make improvements to the Chinden/Black Cat intersection as part of the ChindenWest project.
Work is scheduled to occur during the day and be complete in early August. Crews will be working in the area prior to the closure relocating utilities. Although not expected, night work is allowable.
When complete, Black Cat will have a dedicated left-turn lane to Chinden and a center turn lane that connects to the existing three-lane configuration south of Larry Lane.
Traffic will be detoured via Chinden and McMillan to McDermott Road and Ten Mile Road.
Project Overview
Construction is ongoing in segments of Chinden between Eagle Road and Star Road. Specifically, paving operations to widen the highway to two-lanes in each direction is underway between Linder Road and State Highway 16, and turning movements are restricted between Locust Grove Road and Eagle as crews prepare this segment for widening. Most work is scheduled for completion in late fall 2020.
The corridor, dubbed ChindenWest, is a vital east-west corridor in the heart of the Treasure Valley. The construction will add travel lanes, widen shoulders, and build a separated path parallel to the roadway.
The project website, ITDprojects.org/ChindenWest, serves as a hub of information for the public, including videos that provide a window into the future. The one-stop-shop website includes detailed information about construction activities, anticipated traffic impacts, and the improvement designs.
Black Cat Road will close beginning July 6 to all traffic between Larry Lane and Chinden Boulevard (US 20/26) and to through traffic between McMillan Road and Chinden, as crews make improvements to the Chinden/Black Cat intersection as part of the ChindenWest project.
