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Construction to start on new Murphy maintenance shed

Construction is expected to begin as early as mid-September on a new maintenance shed in Murphy about two miles east of town. The facility will improve snowplow coverage on the rural highways and service to the residents in that area. The new Murphy shed is being built on a 10-acre parcel ITD recently acquired.

The foreman boundaries for the Murphy shed will encompass a portion of Mountain Home and Caldwell highway sections, including parts of Idaho 78, 45, 167 and 51. As the new Murphy foreman, David Stephenson will inherit those sections, which now are the responsibility of the Bruneau and Riddle sheds. He works out of the Bruneau shed while waiting for the Murphy facility to open.

Stephenson was roadway foreman in Grangeville the past 22 years and is a 30-year highway maintenance veteran. He will become the new Murphy maintenance foreman when the shed opens.

The new position was created as part of a realignment of the Mountain Home and Caldwell boundaries and supports the department's Strategic Plan goal of providing Idahoans with a safe, efficient transportation system.

The contractor for the $512,000 building the new shed is the same company, Gafford Construction, that built the Emmett maintenance shed. It has 150 days to complete the Murphy facility, which would mean an opening in January. But the contractor, based in Boise, took less than half the time (70 days) to build the Emmett facility.

“We are doing this to make the best use of our resources for winter maintenance,” explained District Maintenance Engineer Tom Points. “Realigning the Mountain Home and Caldwell maintenance boundaries and building this new shed in Murphy will help ITD provide better snowplow coverage and will increase customer service.”

“The users of these highways will benefit,” explained Points, “along with truckers of oversized loads who often use Idaho 78.”