6/13/2013
Reconstruction of Idaho 33 east of Newdale is under way
RIGBY - Preliminary work on reconstruction of Idaho 33 east of Newdale has begun, with activity ramping up starting Monday (June 17), the Idaho Transportation Department announced. The project is scheduled for completion in September.
Crews are realigning, flattening and rebuilding 4.3 miles of the highway with 12-foot travel lanes and 5-foot shoulders. Shoulder work started June 3, and day and night operations will begin Monday. Crews will work between 6 a.m. and 3 a.m. daily to accelerate construction.
Motorists should watch for construction workers and equipment, and obey all traffic signs. Flaggers may stop traffic briefly on occasion.
The transportation department awarded the $7.3 million contract, which includes replacing culverts, reshaping borrow ditches and utilizing new base material for improved drainage, to M.A. Deatley Construction Inc., of Clarkston, Wash.
Reconstruction will improve traffic safety and flow for vehicle, bicycle and pedestrian traffic. Modifying roadway geometry (width, horizontal and vertical alignment) will improve mobility and economic opportunity by reducing winter road closures.
The transportation department expects improvements to the roadway to significantly reduce the number of crashes along the route. Between 2005 and 2009, a total of 38 crashes occurred: two caused fatalities, 19 led to injuries and 17 caused property damage only.
"Few sections of roadway in District 6 (eastern Idaho) concern us more than this section of Idaho 33, which has poor sight and stopping distances," District Engineer Blake Rindlisbacher said. "The segment remains the same as when constructed in 1936, with narrow shoulders and deep vertical curves. The stretch hasn’t been repaved since 1956."
The major reconstruction project will include a seal coat in 2014.