9/8/2010
Reed Hollinshead
ITD Communication
208-334-8881
reed.hollinshead@itd.idaho.gov
Rockfall work on Idaho 55 from Banks to Round Valley now under way
BOISE - A rockfall mitigation project to improve safety along the highway started yesterday (Tuesday, Sept. 7) on Idaho 55
from Banks to Round Valley, the Idaho Transportation Department announced. Crews will be mobilizing equipment throughout the week.
Loose rock will be removed from the rockfall zone
and crews will add netting to prevent falling rocks from entering the roadway. Work
must be completed by mid-November.
Lane closures and traffic delays will occur during the removal
of the rocks on the slopes and the cleanup required on the road. Delays could
last for more than 15 minutes because of the unpredictability of the size and
amount of rock that could come down at any one time. The operations will
concentrate on one area at a time, but there will be two locations of traffic
control because guardrail at the north end of the project is being removed to
be used during rock-removal operations.
Crews will work on
the side of the roads in several locations along this 26-mile stretch of
highway (milepost 76 to 102). Crews are working on weekdays only, and must be off the road by noon on Friday.
Western Construction, of Boise, is the contractor
on this $971,000 project.