Work On U.S. 95 Bridge Will Delay Night Traffic Crews Pouring Concrete For Span South Of Coeur D’Alene

The U.S. Highway 95 bridge over the Spokane River, immediately south of Coeur d’Alene, will be closed for 20-minute intervals for the next three nights.

From 11 p.m. to 6 a.m., automobile traffic will be stopped on both sides of the bridge as crews pour part of the new bridge deck.

The maximum delay should be 20 minutes, said Barbara Babic, a spokeswoman for the Idaho Department of Transportation.

“Twenty minutes is the time it takes to get a concrete truck on the bridge, pour its load and leave the bridge,” Babic said. “Once it’s done, we will clear traffic” before the next concrete truck goes on the bridge.

The concrete is being poured between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. because that’s when there’s the least traffic on the highway, Babic said.

Crews are working 24 hours a day, six days a week, to replace the deck of the bridge, originally built in 1967.

During the day, traffic is restricted to one lane and is controlled by a traffic signal.

Some motorists, however, are ignoring the red light, work zone signs and traffic barriers.

That’s dangerous for travelers and construction workers, the Transportation Department said.

Motorists are being reminded that traffic fines double in work areas.

The work on the bridge has closed eastbound access from Northwest Boulevard to U.S. Highway 95.