ITD presents two South Hill paving options

BONNERS FERRY — Idaho transportation representatives delivered two options for the first phase of the Bonners Ferry South Hill project at an open house Feb. 5.

More than 100 Bonners Ferry residents came to check out plans for the section from Alderson Lane to Madison Street before 5 p.m., many leaving valuable written comments, ITD representatives said. By the end of the evening, 123 residents signed in at the open house and there was a lot of good discussion with business owners and roadway users, said ITD Senior Transportation Planner Don Davis.

“We had as many people turn out as we did for the informational meeting last March,” Davis said. “This shows good continuity and concern over the project.”

To fully fund the project, ITD has split the South Hill repave into three stages, beginning with Alderson Lane to Madison St. (milepost 506.253 to milepost 506.870). Stage two will focus on Walker Lane to Alderson, and stage three will look at Labrosse Hill to Walker Lane.

The two options both address drainage issues along the corridor and propose reducing approaches to the highway. ITD has proposed closing the south Denver street approach, routing through traffic north and south along the corridor and improving business access to the adjacent parking lot. Other business approaches would be consolidated or relocated for more efficient traffic movement.

Cody Street would be closed as the Lincoln/Cody intersection is straightened to intersect the highway squarely. This would require removal of the Barber Ship building. No other buildings should be removed with either option, and option two (the wider option) would squeeze the roadway to fit alongside buildings that are close to the roadway, such as the Napa Auto Parts building.

Alleyways along the highway would also be closed, funneling traffic to redesigned intersections in order to reduce the number of rear-end collisions from traffic pulling onto the highway.

Both alternatives also propose removing the traffic light at Alderson, changing the intersection in order to more efficiently move traffic.

Differences between the proposals involve roadway width. Both feature a center turn lane, but alternative one uses 12 foot traffic lanes, a 12 foot center turn lane, two-foot shoulders and a sidewalk only on the east side of the highway, not separated from the roadway, with ADA compliant ramps. This is the less expensive option and leftover funding could be used to pave a longer stretch of the road, ITD representatives said.

Alternative two reduces the traffic lanes to 11 feet, keeping the 12 foot center turn lane but adds six-foot shoulders to make room for a bike lane, separates sidewalks from the highway with a 5’-6” vegetated buffer/snow storage area one foot below grade and will construct sidewalks on both sides of the highway.

Ken Blockhan, Jr. has been attending traffic committee meetings this year, to help identify problems and solutions for traffic flow in Bonners Ferry. He liked the open house, and said that ITD presented excellent exhibits with design boards featuring the conceptual alternatives. He was happy with well-informed planning and engineering staff who were willing to listen to concerns and improvements while providing additional information as needed.

“Residents really need to envision this project as a long-term infrastructure design that will provide local residents and commercial traffic improvements as far out as 2045-2050,” he said. “Until a bypass is actually constructed, we need to take into account future commercial and residential growth, vehicle access, bicycle and pedestrian movement and ADA requirements, with safety as a key element.”

While ITD digests comments and comes up with the next steps, the Traffic Committee met Wednesday for their own debrief. ITD representatives will return to Bonners Ferry with the results of comments at the Feb. 25 Boundary Economic Development Council meeting.

A decision has not yet been made whether the project will require a formal location and design hearing. If issues are smoothed out at the local level, a formal comment period may not be required, Davis said. The next step for ITD will be setting up meetings with business and property owners affected by right-of-way acquisition to discuss specific concerns for each property.

Citizens can still offer comment to Davis or project manager Ben Ward through phone or e-mail: Ben Ward, P.E., ITD District 1 Project Manager at (208) 772-1285 or Don Davis, P.E., ITD District 1 Senior Transportation Planner at (208) 772-8019.

Info: www.hwy95BonnersFerry.com