10/1/2015
Newly rebuilt North Fork Payette River Bridge highlights ITD’s commitment to improving Idaho’s infrastructure
BOISE– This week, the Idaho Transportation Department will complete construction of the North Fork Payette River Bridge on Idaho 55 near Cascade. Since spring, crews have been constructing a new 250-foot-long concrete bridge that meets today’s standards for load and width.
The new North Fork Payette River Bridge includes two newly constructed lanes, shoulders and sidewalk. In addition, the roadway approaches have been rebuilt on both sides of the bridge.
The previous bridge needed to be replaced because it was over 65 years old and had outlived its design life.
Across the country, there are thousands of bridges similar to the previous North Fork Payette River Bridge that need to be repaired or replaced. According to the America Society of Civic Engineers, one in nine bridges in the United States are rated structurally deficient, while the average age of the nation’s 607,380 bridges is currently 42 years.
ITD’s Bridge Section is responsible for performing biennial inspections of Idaho’s bridges to ensure safety in accordance with the National Bridge Inspection Standards. Once inspected, the Bridge Section develops repair recommendations for existing bridges.
“ITD understands that maintaining safe and reliable transportation is the cornerstone of keeping our state strong economically,” said ITD District 3 Operations Manager Jason Brinkman. “Our investment in infrastructure is essential to supporting healthy, vibrant communities.”