95 project appears back on track

If the Idaho Transportation Department dodges a few final potholes over the next several weeks, it can begin the long-delayed final phase of the project to widen U.S. Highway 95 between the top of the Lewiston Hill and Moscow this summer.

ITD originally planned to complete the entire stretch in a single two-year project in 2006 and 2007. But the department’s choice to route the section between Thorn Creek Road and Moscow over the western haunch of Paradise Ridge prompted legal actions and a federal environmental review, delaying construction until at least this year.

Now project engineer Ken Helm thinks that work will finally begin in 2021. He expressed faith that ITD will soon obtain a wetlands permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The permit should also pave the way toward acquisition of the final sections of right of way for the new route.

“I do anticipate getting that through the whole process, probably within a month or so,” Helm said of what is commonly referred to as a 404 permit. “We’ve got about six parcels yet to purchase, and I’m anticipating three of those will be done within a month. Then I’ve got a couple of property owners who wanted the 404 permit signed before they wanted to negotiate on their property.”

Right -of-way acquisition was also slowed in the latter half of 2020 by the coronavirus pandemic and harvest season, which kept some of the property owners busy in their fields and away from the bargaining table, Helm added.

“I’m assuming in February I will be negotiating with those property owners, and the whole goal is to get this all wrapped up by May and get it out to bid and start construction later in the summer,” he said.

The first phase of the safety-oriented project brought a two-lane divided highway and a flatter, straighter alignment to the highway section between the top of the Lewiston Hill and Thorn Creek Road. Safety is again the main goal of the Thorn Creek to Moscow phase, which will bypass one of the most dangerous stretches of highway in the state.

That section, from the top of Reisenauer Hill at the south and Zeitler Road to the north, has been peppered with multiple injury and fatality accidents over the decades. The most recent, which took the life of a 75-year-old Coeur d’Alene woman and injured three others Dec. 24, was another punch in the gut for Helm.

“I was very, very upset to hear Christmas Eve about what happened at Eid Road,” he said. “Hopefully that doesn’t happen again, and we can get this project going.”

Like the first phase of the widening project, Helm said the next phase will take two years to complete. It’s budget hasn’t been finalized, but he estimated it will be about $60 million at the most.

But all the time, effort and expense has been a learning experience for ITD that will be well worth it once the project is in the rearview mirror.

“It’s been a roller coaster,” Helm said. “But it’s a positive process. We’ve done a lot of good things because of the lawsuits we went through, and things like that. I don’t think it’s all bad, and everybody has their right (to bring legal action). But I’m glad we’re moving forward. The bottom line is that we want to save lives.”

Joel Mills may be contacted at jmills@lmtribune.com or at (208) 310-1901, ext. 2266.