Several road improvement projects currently in progress

If you could sit down with every official, whether they’re from the state, county or city, and ask about barriers to implementing road improvement projects, they would all say “funding.” It’s not rocket science. It’s keeping the balls in the air when juggling the balancing of new construction, completing repairs and addressing safety issues with the amount of available dollars and cents.

In a statement on March 1 of this year, Governor Brad Little said, “Before and during the pandemic, we are the fastest growing state in the nation. Idaho simply will not keep up with that growth if we, as elected leaders, do not invest strategically and sustainably in our roads and take steps to preserve your precious time and make our transportation system safer.”

Since 2010, Bonner County has grown almost 17 percent in population. Boundary County isn’t much behind with a whopping 15.5 percent growth according to World Population Review. A report authored by staff and students at Boise State University states that the average Idahoan drives 12,480 miles each year on Idaho’s roads.

It’s encouraging that Governor Little also said that he has proposed the state legislature approve $126 million toward “much needed shovel-ready transportation projects … We also have an obligation as elected leaders to confront the growing list of unfunded transportation projects across Idaho with a sustainable funding plan moving forward.”

That’s the future. Right now, there are several projects in the works at the state, counties and cities level that have been approved with funds appropriated. Let’s take a look at some of them.

South of Algoma, Heath Lake Road will be closed at Highway 95 sometime after school lets out for the summer. This project, under the jurisdiction of Bonner County Road and Bridge, is at the request of Idaho Department of Transportation and the BNSF Railroad.

Design improvements are in the works for the junction of Lakeshore Drive and US-95. ITD’s website says that phase one of the project will include adding acceleration lanes for drivers turning onto US-95 to head north or south.

“The existing center turn lane on US-95 will transition to a dedicated turn lane for northbound traffic accessing Lakeshore Drive, and dedicated lanes for different turning movements from Lakeshore Drive will be established,” ITD says.

On the county level, Bonner County Road and Bridge Director Steve Klatt said that there are plans to get Lakeshore Drive hard surface completed this year.

“District 2 (east county) has been tasked with relocating a road up at Priest Lake and District 3 will focus on rebuilding and paving the remaining portion of Woodland Drive near Sandpoint,” Klatt said.

“Every year we have projects that we simply run out of time to start on and they become the starting point for the next year. This year will be no different,” Klatt said. “Bonner County’s roads have improved tremendously in the past 25 years, but that progress is now being challenged by the surge of growth in traffic volumes, the increase in driving speeds and changing traffic patterns as people use rural access roads as more frequent connectors across the county.”

If you’ve driven across the Long Bridge lately, you’ve noticed that maintenance repairs are in the works. This project includes replacing expansion joints, coating guardrails, replacing navigation lights on the vehicle side and replacing joints, navigation lights and resurfacing on the pedestrian side. None of these activities should negatively impact the majority who use the bridge. Lane closures will occur at night, and no work is planned to impact the pedestrian bridge at night or weekends.

“The city of Sandpoint will complete a series of pavement maintenance projects this summer based upon the results of a recent independent pavement analysis,” Mary Malone, executive assistant for the city of Sandpoint said. “A van equipped with laser sensors travelled all city streets analyzing cracking, texture, rutting and roughness among other conditions.  The results determine maintenance priorities using national and industry standards.  Portions of Division Avenue, Spruce, Ruth, Hickory and Poplar will be repaired and curb ramps will be installed where needed. 

“In addition, the city will complete sidewalk construction on the north side of Pine Street between Division and Boyer Avenues.  This project, which is funded by an Idaho Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) Grant, will kick off in April with a public meeting.  The project will go out to bid in May or June and be completed before September 30.”

On the east side of Bonner County, Priest River Mayor Jim Martin said the city will be “renovating ADA access on Highway 2 at Third Street with a grant from the Idaho Transportation Department. We have also completed design and property acquisition for the Highway 2, Wisconsin Street re-alignment and are awaiting final funding to bid this project.”

Heading west to Clark Fork, Mayor Russ Schenck said that they have no road projects slated for this year. “We are still hoping to get the south side of Highway 200 overlaid and hope to finish it next year. It just wasn’t in the pocket book for this fiscal year.”

In Boundary County, Stage 1 of Highway 95 reconstruction is completed between Kootenai River Bridge and Alderson Lane according to ITD. This year and next they plan a break in construction with Stage 2 between Alderson Lane and Labrosse Hill Street set to begin in 2023.

Lisa Ailport, city planner for Bonners Ferry reported that the city is hoping for a grant to construct all of Garden Lane (from Alderson to Fry Street) in one construction season. The 2019 grant included the first phase from Fry Street to Garden Court.

“The city expects to learn the results of the second grant in late March,” Ailport said. “If successful, it is the city’s goal to complete both projects’ phases by the end of this calendar year. The benefit of doing this project means alleviating congestion along Highway 95 and at intersecting streets around school property during peak hours of drop-offs, pick-ups and school events.”

Ailport also said that Bonner Ferry has been selected to receive funding to reconstruct Riverside Road from Fourth Street to the city limits.

“This project builds off Boundary County’s application which reconstructs Riverside from city limits to Deep Creek Bridge. The resulting project will lower the dike in the county and widen the travel lanes so that they can accommodate both vehicle and pedestrian traffic.

“The city portion will not include lowering the dike, rather widening existing travel lanes and constructing an eight-foot pedestrian path along the river and a four-foot bike lane along the southern portion of the right-of-way,” she said.

Senator Jim Woodward at a recent Local Highway Technical Assistance Council meeting told attendees that the Legislature is considering ways to provide more funding for infrastructure. He said that all choices, from bonding (“a steady stream of income”) increasing gas tax (“no one interested”) to utilizing general fund dollars (“previously not palatable”) are being discussed.

“These are just ideas right now, everything is subject to change,” Woodward said.

Back in Bonner County, Klatt said, “The commissioners intend to put an override levy proposal on the May ballot for residents to consider. The purpose of this levy is dedicated to expanding our paving program across Bonner county’s miles of gravel roads. Should the voters approve this levy measure, the Road Department will considerably expand the rural road paving program for the next two years.”

One can bet Boundary County officials agree with Klatt when he said, “Hopefully people moving into rural Bonner County recognize that improving hundreds of miles of road is a slow process.”