10/11/2013
Reed Hollinshead
ITD Communication
208-334-8881
reed.hollinshead@itd.idaho.gov
Southwest Idaho highway construction report for Oct. 11-18
BOISE - The following projects in southwest Idaho are now under way or will begin soon.
ADA COUNTY
BOISE - Idaho 16 Extension, river crossing and local road connections (GARVEE)
A 2.5-mile extension of Idaho 16 is under way, connecting Chinden Boulevard (U.S. 20/26) to State Street (Idaho 44), including construction of a 1,726-foot-long, 11-span, 10-pier, 88-foot-wide bridge over the Boise River and a new crossing of the Phyllis Canal. More than 1.5 million pounds of rebar and over 36.6 million pounds of concrete are used in the bridge.
Work is expected to finish by the fall of 2014.
Concrete guardrails will separate traffic from construction activities, and motorists are strongly encouraged to drive with caution. The speed limit is 45 mph.
If weather permits, crews will pave concrete on the north side of the river during the daytime.
Traffic was shifted last week from the south half of Idaho 44 to the north half, onto the new pavement at existing Idaho 16. The new Idaho 44/16 intersection will serve east- and westbound traffic on Idaho 44 and north- and southbound traffic, north of the intersection, until the remaining projects across and south of the river are completed.
GARVEE (Grant Anticipation Revenue Vehicle) bonds allowed the Idaho Transportation Department to advance critical infrastructure improvements in vital corridors throughout the state.
Concrete Placing Co., of Boise, and Idaho Sand & Gravel, of Nampa, are the prime contractors on these projects. Knife River Construction, of Boise, and Nampa Paving are two of the main subcontractors for this work. The total construction cost is $38.94 million.
ADA COUNTY
EAST BOISE – Resurfacing on I-84 from milepost 60 to 70
Construction on Interstate 84 east of Boise, between the Eisenman and Mayfield exits, has moved traffic over to one side of the interstate for one-lane travel in both directions until completion of the project. The contractor has accelerated work and is ahead of the original schedule.
Motorists can already drive on the eastbound side of the interstate. Crews anticipate being done with paving Oct. 11. Before they switch traffic back to the westbound side on or around Oct. 16, there is a lot of work to do to set up striping and other traffic control items.
The eastbound rest area has reopened, but the westbound Blacks Creek Rest Area and the Eisenman and Blacks Creek off-ramps will be closed until the project finishes..
Central Paving Co., of Boise, is the contractor on this $8.8 million project.
BOISE COUNTY
GARDEN VALLEY - South Fork Payette River Bridge
Crews are working to replace the old bridge over the south fork of the Payette River near Garden Valley.
The old bridge, located southwest of town, also called the Alder Creek Bridge or Silver Bridge, has a sufficiency rating of less than 50. Boise County is the local sponsor. The new bridge will be relocated upstream and the existing bridge will serve as a detour during construction.
Work on the initial phase of the project will continue until the winter shutdown period in early December.
The other half of the bridge will be built starting next spring, after crews remove the existing bridge. Work is expected to take most of the summer.
Ralph L. Wadsworth Construction Company Inc., of Draper, Utah, is the contractor on this $2.3 million project.
This is an LHTAC (Local Highway Technical Assistance Council) project. ITD has oversight responsibility for this work.
CANYON, PAYETTE COUNTY
U.S. 95, Anderson Corner Road Improvements
Work began Sept. 30 on reconstruction of the U.S. 95 and U.S. 20/26 junction at the Payette and Canyon county line, known as Anderson Corner. The work is expected to finish in late October.?
The contractor has been excavating shoulders and placing highway sub-base material and base course in preparation for paving. Paving is scheduled for the end of this week. Next week, the contractor plans to stripe lanes and install signs.
Crews will construct a new northbound right-turn lane onto Anderson Corner Road and will extend the southbound acceleration lane by one-quarter mile, providing additional space for safer merging onto U.S. 95.
Nunhems USA Inc. is headquartered near the junction and is participating financially in the project. The project is a cooperative effort involving ITD, Nunhems (part of Bayer CropScience), the Idaho Department of Commerce and the Western Alliance for Economic Development. The work was accelerated several years because of the partnership.
The speed limit in the work zone will be reduced from 65 mph to 45 mph; flaggers will guide traffic. Two lanes will open during most of the construction, but there will be times when the highway will be reduced to one lane and alternating traffic. Delays will be no more than 15 minutes.
The junction serves local agriculture traffic, major trucking transportation operations and local traffic vehicles.
Idaho Sand & Gravel, of Nampa, is the contractor on this $239,416 project. Nunhems and the Western Alliance will contribute $75,000 each, with the balance covered by ITD.
PAYETTE COUNTY
FRUITLAND - SW 3rd Street; Iowa Avenue to Jct. U.S. 95
This Local Highway Technical Assistance Council (LHTAC) project is a reconstruction of the main street through old downtown. The pavement is old and excessively patched, sidewalks are deficient and there are drainage issues.
Crews will lay asphalt on the north side approximately Oct. 15, and place the final layer on both sides of the road the following week. The project should be substantially complete by the end of October.
The city of Fruitland is the local sponsor.
Irvco Asphalt & Gravel, of Fruitland, is the contractor on this $2.25 million project.
VALLEY COUNTY
CASCADE – Bridge Replacement
Replacement of the North Fork Payette River Bridge in downtown Cascade continues. The bridgework will extend into late fall 2013.
This project will replace the old, narrow, width-restricted bridge built in 1933 with one more than twice as wide. The existing bridge is 24 feet wide, and will be replaced with a 60-foot wide, 393-foot long, three-span bridge. The new bridge will have two 12-foot lanes, two 11-foot shoulders and a 14-foot median.
In addition, a paved extension will be built to the dirt shared-use path under the bridge on the north side of the river that provides access from both sides of the bridge to the new riverside park. The short section under the west half of the new bridge has been graded, but has not yet been paved.
In the first stage, two-thirds of the new bridge will be built to the west of the existing structure. Traffic will be maintained on the existing bridge through this first stage of bridge work, and then will be routed to the new section of bridge for the remaining work as the old bridge is demolished. There will be traffic interruptions while the new roadway section leading to the new bridge is built.
From Monday through Thursday, work that limits drivers to one lane in each direction is only allowed between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Two lanes will be maintained between noon Friday and noon Monday. A river safety and navigation plan will be in place for recreationists that use this section of the river.
Crews began paving the roadway Thursday, Oct 10. Crews built a small retaining wall near the pedestrian path and also began grading for the path. Next week, the contractor intends to complete asphalt paving on the project and seed the slopes.
Wadsworth Brothers Construction Co. Inc., of Draper, Utah, is the contractor on this $4.83 million project.
WASHINGTON COUNTY
WEISER – replacement of bridge over Weiser River
The replacement of a 78-year-old bridge over the Weiser River south of Weiser has begun, with several significant traffic impacts. The work on U.S. 95 is expected to be done by mid-December.
Traffic is restricted to one lane across the bridge. North- and southbound traffic will alternate across the bridge, controlled by temporary signals at both ends of the structure.
Drivers are reminded to use patience during reconstruction and perhaps consider an alternate route, such as Oregon State Route 201 and the U.S. 95 Spur.
Traffic volume increases on U.S. 95 on weekends, so electronic message boards, both on the side of the highway and overhead on westbound I-84, will be used to alert motorists of bridge restrictions.
Crews plan to work Mondays through Fridays, but will be off the highway on weekends and holidays.??The two-lane bridge, one of 99 remaining on the state system built before 1936, will be replaced with a three-lane structure. The existing bridge has 26 feet of drivable width, but the new one will be expanded to 48.
An average of 7,300 vehicles use the bridge daily. More than 100 million vehicle trips have been taken across the bridge during its lifetime.
In addition to replacing the aging bridge, crews also will reconstruct more than 500 feet of bridge approaches at the north and south ends.
The existing bridge has a sidewalk and two 13-foot lanes but no shoulders. The new bridge will have two 12-foot lanes and a 12-foot center turn lane. The project features a two-foot buffer next to the decorative bridge railing, a five-foot shoulder and a five-foot sidewalk on the west side. No bike lanes will be included in the project.
The new bridge will be 346 feet long and 55 feet wide, including the parapet.
The contractor has been placing the concrete deck on the stage 2 portion of the bridge deck, as well as preparing the approaches for paving this week. Next week, the contractor plans to pave the approaches to the bridge.
Braun-Jensen, of Payette, is the prime contractor on the $4.8 million project.