Idaho Highway 55 opens following cleanup of rock slide

Idaho Highway 55 between Smiths Ferry and Round Valley Road reopened Monday after being closed by a rock slide for almost three weeks, the Idaho Transportation Department announced.

ITD expects delays to last about 15 minutes as additional construction work is scheduled to prepare the road for winter. After this week, all roadwork will be put on hold until the spring.

The road had been closed since Nov. 18 after a rockslide. More than 50,000 cubic yards of large boulders and dirt slid onto the roadway, ITD said. The rockslide took place near the Rainbow Bridge, about 20 miles south of Cascade. The area is frequented as a way to get between McCall and Boise.

Construction crews built a 20-foot tall and 400-foot long rock wall to stabilize the area, according to ITD. An “interim road” is ready to be opened around the location of the slide.

“The Department thanks the traveling public, Valley County residents, and the business community for their support and patience, as our crews worked tirelessly to stabilize this slide,” ITD Engineering Manager Jason Brinkman said in the news release. “We know it’s been a long closure, but we have taken extensive steps to ensure safe travel through the work zone this winter.”

U.S. Highway 95, an alternate route when Highway 55 was closed, remains open for travel between Valley County and the Treasure Valley.

This was the second rockslide to occur near Rainbow Bridge this year. There was one in March on the same stretch of highway. ITD is working on a project in the area to expand the road.