Highway 95 construction to pave southbound lane

BONNERS FERRY — After the Fourth of July holiday, construction on U.S. 95 will turn to paving the southbound lane in town.

Work this season will focus on building a three-lane section featuring wider shoulders and sidewalks on both sides between Eisenhower Street and Alderson Lane, city officials said.

Since construction began in April, crews have been able to install the base, curb, gutter and sidewalks for the southbound lane for the expanded highway. Work also began for the proposed stormwater pond and traffic light installation.

Traffic is expected to continue to have a lane in each direction, but will be periodically stopped to allow trucks to enter and exit the work zone during the weeklong paving period.

Once paving in that direction is complete, crews will shift to the middle of the highway and work at night. Drivers can expect the highway to be reduced to one lane at night for about one month.

Two lanes will be open during the day when crews are not working. Wide loads more than 11 feet wide will not be allowed during the day. Officials said those vehicles will only be able to access the roadway between 9 p.m. and 4 a.m., adding that only loads up to 13 feet wide will be allowed. Wider loads will need to find an alternate route during this stage.

In mid-August, crews plan to resume daytime work to focus on the northbound lane. This phase of the two-year project is expected to end in October.

The city of Bonners Ferry has elected to landscape sections between the curb and the sidewalks with decorative rock, rather than grass as used in previous phases, due to the high maintenance costs.

Property owners or individuals interested in “adopting” the section in front of their property and agreeing to maintain the grassy area, if constructed, should contact the city at 208-267-3105 by the end of July. Sections that have been adopted for maintenance may be landscaped with grass rather than rock if a maintenance agreement can be signed.

Construction from 2018 to 2020 built similar improvements from the Kootenai River Bridge to Alderson Lane. Learn more about this project at itdprojects.org/us95bonnersferry.