12/3/2015
Bridge construction to close section of U.S. 26 business loop southwest of Ririe starting Dec. 14
RIGBY - Bridge construction will close a section of the U.S. 26 business loop southwest of Ririe beginning Monday (Dec. 14). Crews will replace the Enterprize Canal Bridge, located one-third of a mile southwest of Ririe. The bridge was built in 1931.
Traffic will be detoured along the east section of the U.S. 26 business loop south of Ririe and along 115 East to the west of Ririe.
Motorists can enter and leave Ririe via Idaho 48, County Line Road, the U.S. 26 business loop south of town, and the Archer Highway north of town.
Crews will replace the old bridge with a wider, longer structure of precast concrete. The project is scheduled for completion in January, weather permitting.
Traffic-control personnel will place portable electronic message boards on U.S. 26 and Idaho 48 to notify drivers of the road closure.
Businesses and residences on the U.S. 26 business loop southwest of town will be accessible from either end of the road, but the route will be closed to through traffic.
The transportation department awarded Knife River Corporation’s southern Idaho division, based in Boise, the $305,000 contract.
The cost of the bridge replacement is being funded by user-fee increases approved by the Idaho Legislature in House Bill 312a earlier this year. These increases will finance five projects in eastern Idaho (see attached map) in 2015 and 2016.