11/1/2013
Reed Hollinshead
ITD Communication
208-334-8881
reed.hollinshead@itd.idaho.gov
Southwest Idaho highway construction report for Nov. 1-8
BOISE - The following projects in southwest Idaho are now under way:
ADA COUNTY
BOISE - Idaho 16 Extension, river crossing and local road connections (GARVEE)
Construction continues on the 2.5-mile extension of Idaho 16 connecting Chinden Boulevard (U.S. 20/26) to State Street (Idaho 44), including 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 began in May 2012 and is expected to finish by the fall of 2014.
Concrete guardrails separate traffic from construction activities, but motorists are encouraged to drive with caution.
The deck placements are complete for the new bridge over the Boise River. Crews continue to place parapet and tie rebar for the median barrier. They are also placing pedestrian rail where the parapet has cured. Concrete paving to the south of the river is complete, and concrete paving north of the bridge is underway.
Following a traffic shift Wednesday night, all traffic is on the south side of Idaho 44 through the construction zone. This will allow crews to prepare to pave the bottom layer of Idaho 44, east of the new intersection with Idaho 16.
All Idaho 44 work is expected to be complete in November 2013, at which time crews will begin U.S. 20/26 (Chinden Boulevard) reconstruction.
Crew are pulverizing existing pavements on Dawes and Calhoun roads this week to prepare for realignment over the next two weeks.
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.
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 in early December.
Construction on the other half of the bridge will begin 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.
VALLEY COUNTY
CASCADE – Bridge Replacement
Replacement of the North Fork Payette River Bridge in downtown Cascade is wrapping up.
The project replaces the old, narrow, width-restricted bridge built in 1933 with one more than twice as wide. The earlier bridge was 24 feet wide, and is being 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 to provide access from both sides of the bridge to the new riverside park.
In the first stage, two-thirds of the new bridge was built to the west of the existing structure.
Traffic was maintained on the existing bridge through this first stage of bridge work, and then routed to the new section of bridge for the remaining work as the old bridge was demolished.
The contractor graded the roadside slopes and seeded this week. Guardrail also was installed. Next week, crews will stripe the project in the final lane configuration. Final work continues on the bridge. The work will require the closure of one lane for short durations. Flaggers will be used to control traffic during these times.
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 on U.S. 95 south of Weiser is underway. The work 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 be 346 feet long and 55 feet wide, with 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 contractor has been setting rebar and installing forms for the parapet. The contractor will pour concrete for the closure pour and the parapet next week.
Braun-Jensen, of Payette, is the prime contractor on the $4.8 million project.