10/19/2007
Ceremony celebrates completion of U.S. 95 project
LEWISTON - About 100 local residents and special guests celebrated the completion of the U.S. 95 Top of Lewiston Hill to Thorncreek Road project at a ceremony on Thursday, the Idaho Transportation Department announced.
Idaho Transportation Board Vice-chairman Bruce Sweeney was the keynote speaker for the ceremony, which took place at the top of Lewiston Hill.
"The highway has been widened from two to four lanes and dangerous curves have been eliminated," Sweeney said. "But there is more work to be done. There are six miles of old highway left between Thorncreek Road and Moscow. After several years of work, the environmental documents are expected to arrive at the Federal Highway Administration soon. We look forward to seeing that final stretch completed."
The 16-mile corridor opened to traffic Sunday after two years of construction. The expanded highway will improve safety on the heavily traveled commuter/agricultural corridor.
The project was divided into two phases: Top of Lewiston Hill to Genesee and Genesee to Thorncreek Road. The project will ultimately connect with the existing southern entrance to Moscow.
Sweeney expressed ITD's commitment to making U.S. 95 safer, noting that 460 miles of U.S. 95 are in Idaho. Many of those miles contain challenging curves and grades. The U.S. 95 Top of Lewiston Hill to Thorncreek Road project is an important step in making this route safer for the traveling public, Sweeney said.
The ceremony culminated with the placement of the last milepost sign for the new highway.
Scarsella Bros., Inc. of Seattle was the prime contractor for both projects. The Top of Lewiston Hill to Genesee phase cost approximately $17.2 million. The Genesee to Thorncreek Road phase cost approximately $32.8 million.