7/16/2009
House move on Idaho 55 from Horseshoe Bend to Smiths Ferry to impact traffic July 21-22
BOISE -- The house measures 24 feet wide - approximately the same width of Idaho 55 - which is why the Idaho Transportation Department will accompany the 33-mile transport of a log structure northward along the winding highway next Tuesday afternoon (July 21) and Wednesday morning (July 22).
For years, the small, painted red log home sat on the side of the road in Horseshoe Bend just south of the bridge, where it was used as office space until the owner decided to sell it. That effort failed, so the owner recently donated the structure to Chapel in the Pines church in Smiths Ferry for use as a Sunday school classroom.
Getting it there is the hard part.
The move will occur in two stages. The first stage will take place Tuesday afternoon, and will involve picking up the house (in two parts) with a crane, setting it on a trailer and moving it from its current location to just north of the junction of Horseshoe Bend and Idaho 55. The second stage will take place from midnight that same night to 6 a.m. the following morning, and will encompass moving the house northbound along Idaho 55 to Smiths Ferry.
Pilot cars will stop and hold southbound traffic ahead of the load as it proceeds north. As the load passes through wider areas of Idaho 55, the caravan will move to the side and allow traffic to pass. There are nine such areas identified in the corridor.
ITD also will deploy portable message boards in the area to alert motorists, and post the information on 511.
The permit to move the house was issued to Legacy Logistics Trucking of Elgin, Oregon.