Taking A ‘Friendly’ Route State Plans Steps To Minimize Effect Of Upcoming Cda Highway Projects

Welcome to Idaho. Merge left.

Orange signs will greet vacationers and commuters this summer as two major road projects get under way, stretching from Coeur d’Alene to the Washington state line.

But state road officials are planning to use “traffic-friendly” methods in an effort to keep cars and trucks flowing while crews fix roads.

“We have been trying new approaches to this road work over the past couple of years,” said Scott Stokes, district engineer with the Idaho Transportation Department.“We’d like to do most of this work without folks noticing much.”

The first major project is the $5.5 million repaving of Interstate 90 from Coeur d’Alene to the state line.

The work, starting in May or June, will eliminate the infamous - and sometimes dangerous - ruts that cut into the highway pavement as if they had been made by old-fashioned wagon wheels in mud.

“That’s going to take the better part of the summer,” Stokes said.

Most of the work will be done at night. Plans call for closing one of two lanes in each direction of I-90 until the work is complete.

“If we were doing that during the day, it would be a major impact,” Stokes said. “When we do that at night, it slows you down but it’s well worth it.”

Construction on the second major project, a new I-90 interchange for Northwest Boulevard, is expected to start later in the summer, Stokes said.

That project, expected to take two building seasons to complete, will cause some inconveniences for Coeur d’Alene commuters.

“It’s going to be tough,” Stokes said. “You can’t build a brand new $10 million interchange without some element of pain.”

Still, most work is planned for night to avoid stalled traffic near the intersection of Seltice Way and Ironwood Drive.

“There is going to be a time period where a piece of Ramsey (Road) will be shut down for a couple weeks,” he said. “We are going to get a new bridge out of this project.”

The project has local business folks nervous about how they will attract customers with the work under way.

“I would hope that our food and our restaurant will be reason enough for people, even if it is a minute or two out of their way to come in,” said Brandon Quigley, manager of the Coeur d’Alene Outback Steakhouse Restaurant. “We’ll just hope for a timely repair job.”

City Councilwoman Deanna Goodlander, owner of Country Quik Stop at the corner of Appleway Drive and Ramsey Road, said the construction will end her 20-year-old business.

Plans call for moving Appleway north of her location, leaving the convenience store at the end of a cul-de-sac.

“That will put us out of the convenience store business, but it could be used as a strip mall in the future,” she said.

Her son, Phil Goodlander, is building a convenience store on what will be the corner of the new on-ramp to I-90.

“There is no question it’s needed,” Goodlander said of the new interchange. “I just drove from downtown and it took me five stop lights to get across Ironwood.”

Stokes said commuters won’t face many detours. The traffic will remain on the current bridge as crews build a new section over I-90.

“Then we’ll shift traffic to the new bridge, demolish the old bridge and complete the other half where the old bridge is now standing,” Stokes said.

Crews will have to close all lanes of the interstate when the bridge beams are put in place. During that procedure, traffic will be routed up and around already completed exit and entry ramps.

If everything goes as planned, the interstate would be completed sometime in late fall 2001.

The recently approved reconstruction of Northwest Boulevard from the interchange to Sherman Avenue will not start this year, Stokes said.

“Engineering, plans and purchase of some right-of-way won’t be complete this year,” he said. “We want to get it ready for 2001 so that it comes in on the tail end of the interchange project.”

The city of Coeur d’Alene and the state both have pledged $2.5 million to reconstruct Northwest Boulevard, add trees, place utility lines under ground and provide a new entrance to North Idaho College.

Funds have been committed but have not yet been identified for the plan, which will require some right-of-way purchases.

Until plans are drawn, it’s not yet known what businesses would be affected, he said.

“We want to get it all done at once to make the inconvenience as short as possible,” Stokes said.