RIGBY - U.S. 20 resurfacing in Island Park, funded with new revenue, will begin Monday (July 11). The project is scheduled for completion in late September.

Crews will resurface an 18-mile stretch of highway between Pine Haven Drive and Island Park Lodge (milepost 377-395). Weather permitting, they also will seal coat 26 miles of U.S. 20 between Sheep Falls Road and Island Park Lodge (milepost 369-395).

Resurfacing work will consist of removing the worst sections of pavement and replacing them the same day. The 18-mile stretch of road will then be paved with new asphalt.

Travel will be reduced to one lane, with flaggers directing traffic through the work zones. Motorists can expect delays. The speed limit will be reduced to 35 mph.

Construction will begin as early as 6 a.m. and run as late as 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday.

Commercial drivers transporting permitted loads wider than 14 feet need to contact Resident Engineer Matt Davison (208-745-5686) or Staff Engineer Kade Raymond (208-745-5316) 24 hours in advance of travel for special authorization to pass through the construction zone.

Drivers should watch for construction workers and equipment, and obey all traffic signs.

The transportation department awarded the $4.9-million contract to Western Construction Inc., of Boise.

Following the Idaho Legislature’s additional funding approval — the state’s first transportation-revenue increase in nearly two decades — the Idaho Transportation Board advanced a group of maintenance projects in 2015. This opened the way to move forward dozens of other critically needed road and bridge projects statewide. The resurfacing and seal coating in Island Park is one of the combination of projects advanced through the initiative.