Sandpoint Road Bypass A Step Closer Final Documents Released, Open House Scheduled Nov. 3

The Sand Creek bypass for U.S. Highway 95 is on the last leg of a bureaucratic journey toward official approval.

The Idaho Transportation Department released the final Environmental Impact Statement on the proposed new north-south Highway 95 route Wednesday and initiated a public comment period.

The preferred alternative, along Sand Creek, hasn’t changed much since the draft EIS was released.

The proposal calls for approximately seven miles of highway improvements, the most controversial being a new two-lane, raised roadway that follows Sand Creek from the north end of the Long Bridge to the intersection of Highway 95 and U.S. Highway 200.

Since the draft EIS, the alignment of the proposed new bypass has been adjusted to avoid the historic Burlington Northern train depot.

But concerns remain about the visual impact of the steel and concrete structure along the east bank of Sand Creek.

Plans also call for widening the highway on the Long Bridge to four lanes, while retaining the bike trail. Widening also is planned for the highway north of the Highway 200 and 95 intersection to the Kootenai Cut-off Road and south of the Long Bridge to Sagle.

The total estimated cost is $52.8million, with $23million required for the new Sand Creek portion.

Another alternative in the final EIS is a through-town alternative, which would move northbound traffic away from First Avenue and onto Fourth and Church streets. That alternative is not preferred because it doesn’t move through-traffic out of downtown. That alternative is estimated to cost a total of $45.3 million.

The third alternative is a no-action alternative, which does nothing to solve the problem of congestion in downtown Sandpoint and the threat of toxic spills and other accidents from large commercial trucks negotiating downtown’s tight corners.

Traffic studies in Sandpoint show that sometimes it takes 45 minutes to drive through town on Highway 95 in the summer. The proposal for a bypass around downtown Sandpoint has been on the books since 1957, but has only gained political favor now that traffic levels in downtown Sandpoint are reaching critical levels.

Although many residents would rather see a new route forged on the west end of town, the costs and environmental impacts associated with that alternative prompted transportation officials to reject it early in the process.

The West alternative, as it’s called, would require construction of a new bridge over the Pend Oreille River, two railroad overpasses, an interchange west of Dover, and 13 miles of new four-lane road construction in hilly terrain, according to the EIS. The estimated cost of that alternative is about $87 million.

The state also considered a full four-lane route along Sand Creek, but rejected it because it would have increased that alternative’s cost to $81 million and conflicted with the railroad depot.

That option also called for a full interchange on the south end of the bypass.

The preferred alternative calls for just half an interchange on the south end, so northbound cars can exit into Sandpoint, but cars leaving Sandpoint can only drive south. A full interchange is proposed for the north end of the bypass.

The purpose of the restricted interchange is to discourage local residents from using the bypass as a short-cut through town.

A public information open house on the final EIS is scheduled from 3 to 7 p.m., Nov. 3, at the Bonner Mall. Copies of the document will be handed out and staff from the state Department of Transportation will answer questions.

Comments on the final EIS can be sent to Jack T. Coe, Federal Highway Administration, Idaho Division, 3050 Lake Harbor Lane, Suite 126, Boise, Idaho 83703.