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Government Way Bridge reopens

Jeanette Delia rides in a ceremonial procession of cars Friday across the newly opened Government Way Bridge over I-90 in Coeur d'Alene. Delia owns a salon near the bridge called Klassic Kuts. For many merchants, drop-in business was at a virtual standstill during the work. (Jesse Tinsley / The Spokesman-Review)
Meghann M. Cuniff Staff writer
Jeanette Delia rides in a ceremonial procession of cars Friday across the newly opened Government Way Bridge over I-90 in Coeur d'Alene. Delia owns a salon near the bridge called Klassic Kuts. For many merchants, drop-in business was at a virtual standstill during the work. (Jesse Tinsley / The Spokesman-Review)

Jeanette Delia moved her hairstyling business from Pinehurst to Coeur d’Alene last summer, so she’d never experienced business with the Government Way Bridge open.

But that didn’t quell her excitement when the bridge finally opened for traffic Thursday afternoon.

“Woohoo!” she screamed while standing in the back of a Jeep Wrangler, crossing the new bridge for the first time. “We’re driving over it!”

Eight other cars blared their horns while they crossed the bridge, the first cars to do so since it closed last year for reconstruction. Now, $2.6 million and more than a year later, the four-lane bridge is ready for business, or businesses.

“I can’t tell you what a difference this is going to make to the businesses out here,” Delia said while standing outside her Klassic Kuts hairstyling salon.

“I can’t believe how many people are going down there already,” Delia’s son, Kasey, said.

Delia’s shop is less than 50 yards from the construction site, and neighbors say she’s been leading the effort to make sure the closed bridge didn’t adversely affect the area shops more than it had to.

When the state put up signs on Appleway Avenue saying the road was closed, Delia was the one who asked that the signs be changed to say just the bridge was closed. She said she also was able to persuade the Idaho Transportation Department to put up a sign listing the area businesses that were open.

Though the construction may have hurt businesses and been a general annoyance, Delia said she never got frustrated. She found ways to help, like giving the construction workers a free case of energy drinks when they began laying the asphalt Thursday morning.

After months of a closed bridge and a limited customer base, the area businesses and construction workers seemed to get to know each other well, she said.

“It kind of got us together as a little family,” she said.

She said she even gave the construction workers free haircut coupons.

Richard and Carolyn Rosanova own Wild Idaho Chocolate, just a few doors down from Klassic Kuts, and said they too opened shop right after the bridge closed. Having it open might seem like a luxury at first, given that thousands of cars are expected to use it daily, Richard Rosanova said.

“That’s a significant difference from 50 a day,” he said.

Carolyn Rosanova said she was patient through most of the construction, though she did become edgy during the final months, particularly after the original opening date of May 31 passed.

“Open, open, open,” she said she’d tell herself.

Bridge engineer Jason Minzghor was happy the bridge was open, and maybe even a bit relieved.

“Businesses threatened to throw me over the bridge if I didn’t get it done today,” he said with a smile.