9/20/2011
Intermittent delays of 15-30 minutes expected on U.S. 95 south of Grangeville
LEWISTON – A safety project to remove loose rock and secure a steep slope next to U.S. 95 south of Grangeville will begin Wednesday, the Idaho Transportation Department announced.
The project, initially scheduled to start today (Tuesday), was postponed to review the project’s traffic control plan. Revisions call for intermittent traffic delays of 15 to 30 minutes, based on traffic volume, through the construction area.
The decision to implement shorter, unscheduled delays was made to maintain the region’s economic vitality, explains ITD District 2 Engineer Jim Carpenter. A series of scheduled 90-minute delays originally was considered to enable rock scaling and removal.
Motorists traveling on U.S. 95 should expect delays during daylight hours, Mondays through Fridays at the top of the White Bird Grade, 8.5 miles south of Grangeville. Traffic will be interrupted as Midwest Rockfall Inc., of Henderson, Colo., removes loose and threatening rock immediately west of the highway.
That segment of U.S. 95, completed in 1964, frequently is the victim of rockfall, rockslides and occasional landslides. The corridor is 2,200 feet long and is overshadowed by rock faces of 180 feet or higher.
The safety project includes rock bolting, tree removal, excavation, installation of rock dowels, installation of cable net slope protection, installation of draped mesh slope protection and “shotcrete.”
Work requiring traffic interruptions should be complete in about 20 working days and is the first part of a 105-day contract. If the project is not completed this fall, it will resume next spring.
ITD and the contractor ask motorists to use caution and patience while driving through the work zone.