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ITD awards grants for 107 pedestrian ramp repairs

Pedestrians in seven Idaho communities will find surface transitions smoother and easier to navigate after completion of the 2012 ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) Pedestrian Curb Ramp Program next year.

Maureen Gresham, of the Division of Transportation Performance, announced that 107 new curb ramps will be constructed this year at a total cost of $348,244. Of that amount, ITD awarded grants of $262,940 from state resources to supplement local funding for construction of the ramps.

Leaders from the seven cities worked with ITD districts to identify and prioritize the ramp projects. They were selected from an extensive statewide inventory of pedestrian ramps that need to be corrected for ADA compliance.

Communities requesting state funds included Mackay, McCall, Moscow, Mountain Home, Nampa, Fruitland and Kooskia. Eight other proposed curb ramp projects were not on the state highway system and were not considered for funding.

Mackay and Moscow will construct 24 ramps at a total cost of $63,306 and $50,320 respectively. ITD agreed to fully fund 14 ramps in McCall at a cost of $47,000 and to partner with Mountain Home (15 ramps, total of $35,000), Nampa (three ramps at $5,400 each), Fruitland (10 ramps, $46,618) and Kooskia (17 ramps, $46,000).

Depending on future funding, ITD hopes to make the pedestrian ramp projects an ongoing program. Construction will be tied to programmed highway projects along state routes to achieve the greatest efficiency.

Construction on the initial round of projects is expected to begin next summer and be completed by the end of the 2013 season.