Parsons outlines bypass work plans

SANDPOINT - People can expect to see an influx of truck traffic on U.S. Highway 95 when work starts on the Sand Creek Byway this month.

Parsons RCI conducted its first weekly update meeting Thursday to advise the community of its construction plans for the next two to three weeks.

"With that much activity and that much going on, there are going to be some inconveniences," said Bob Clucas, senior project manager for Parsons.

Motorists will soon be encountering a marked increase in truck traffic on U.S. 95 South as pipe piling stockpiled in Sagle is transported to the north end of the Long Bridge. Parsons also expects to start dredging in the west side of Sand Creek between the Bridge and Cedar street bridges.

The dredging is scheduled to start on Friday, Nov. 21.

Although no traffic controls are planned to facilitate the movement of the pile-laden trucks, the right-hand lane of First Avenue will be closed from between Bridge Street and the Panida Theater to accommodate trucks hauling out dredged material to a site in Colburn.

The right lane will be tapered to divert traffic into the center and left lanes so trucks can access First Avenue from the alley next to the theater. The closure of the right lane will also affect parallel parking on the east side of First.

The lane and parking closures is expected to last for about two weeks, a prospect which was not greeted warmly by some downtown merchants awaiting the holiday season.

Outdoor equipment retailer Kevin Nye asked Clucas if the dredging could be put off until the new year so holiday shoppers could have unrestricted access and parking downtown. Clucas said postponing the dredging was not an option.

"Your profits are more important than ours?" challenged Nye, a member of the North Idaho Community Action Network, which is fighting to stop the project.

Clucas said the dredging has to be done now or it will have to wait a full year because of a narrow environmental regulatory window.

Parsons estimated six to 10 trucks an hour will be leaving the dredge work zone behind the theater. Two pieces of track-mounted equipment will be working in the creek - an excavator and a material carrier to shuttle material to the truck loading area.

Sandpoint Councilman Michael Boge asked if the First Avenue lane closure could be avoided by running trucks onto Bridge Street and into the alley behind Downtown Crossing, but Parsons officials said they're trying keep trucks off of Bridge Street as much as possible. The vehicles would also have a tough time negotiating the tight 90-degree turn with a downhill grade.

Piles will be driven into the bed of the creek throughout the winter. Clucas said a "bubble curtain" will be installed in the creek to guard against harm to fish. The tubular piles will be driven into the creek to a depth of 170-180 feet.

The pile driving will occur throughout the winter, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays.

"We're not going to sugarcoat it. There is going to be noise," Clucas said of the pile-driving operations.

Clucas said Parsons' goal is to be responsive as possible to the concerns of residents and businesses.

"The acid test, of course, is the action that follows," he said. "We need to build that credibility before this is going to work."