Idaho

Transportation Department

4/27/2007






Construction on Salem Bridge between Rexburg and St. Anthony to start Monday

RIGBY -  A project to replace the Salem Bridge on the Parker‑Salem Highway between Rexburg and St. Anthony will begin Monday (April 30), the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) announced.

Crews will replace the bridge and its approaches. Fremont County will close the Parker‑Salem Highway, which is 1900 East in Fremont County, by May 4. The road will remain closed until construction is complete in mid‑December.

This highway is a familiar route for motorists traveling to the popular St. Anthony Sand Dunes and is a major farm‑to‑market and commuter road. Traffic will be detoured onto U.S. 20 to St. Anthony, through St. Anthony to 600 North, along 600 North and back to the Salem Road (1900 East). A west route will follow 3000 North in Madison County to the Hibbard Highway (1500 East) then travel north to 500 North. 

ITD awarded Cannon Builders of Blackfoot the $4.23 million construction contract on April 12. Forsgren Associates Inc. of Salt Lake City designed the project.

Work will consist of demolishing the old bridge, constructing a new one and reconstructing the roadway on both ends of the bridge from county road 200 North to approximately county road 350 North (milepost 5 to 6.5).

Built in 1953, the Salem Bridge is a two‑lane structure 186 feet long. It stands on wooden pillars that water sometimes washes underneath.

Jorgensen Associates, PC of Jackson, Wyo., rated the sufficiency of the Salem Bridge at 42.8 out of 100 in 2005. A sufficiency rating below 50 indicates the bridge is due for replacement.

On Jan. 21, Fremont County closed the road for three weeks because of ice buildup in the Henrys Fork of the Snake River beneath the bridge, which caused flooding around the bridge. Over the years, the county has closed the road a number of times because of ice buildup in the river beneath the bridge.

The bottom of the new bridge will be about 2.5 feet higher than the existing one.

Last summer, ITD advertised for bids to replace the bridge, but received none. The department then re‑evaluated project plans and environmental permits and re‑advertised for bids early this year. On March 13, three companies submitted bids, with Cannon Builders submitting the lowest.

ITD held a preconstruction meeting April 26 on the project at ITD District 6 Headquarters in Rigby.

Sponsored by Fremont County, the project will be administered by ITD using federal and county funds 92.66 and 7.34 percent, respectively. The Local Highway Technical Assistance Council (LHTAC) in Boise administered project design.

On April 19, the Idaho Transportation Board authorized LHTAC to shift about $506,000 of bridge and road project funding from the Watson Street Bridge in Culdesac, south of Lewiston, and about $294,000 of seal‑coating project funding from the Mesa Falls Byway in Fremont County to help pay the $800,000 difference between ITD's cost estimate and the bid price. Both the city of Culdesac and Fremont County approved the funding shift.

"The Salem Bridge has been under design for more than a decade, so we are glad to receive the approvals," said Jerry Flatz, LHTAC federal aid manager.

Fremont County Public Works Director Marla Vik will oversee detour arrangements.

During the past two summers, Fremont County counted up to 1,400 vehicles per day on the Parker-Salem Highway.