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Groundbreaking planned Thursday for Sand Creek Byway

The public will join Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter, elected officials and community leaders Thursday (Oct. 30) at 2 p.m. on the site of the former Lakeside Inn in Sandpoint, to celebrate the beginning of construction on the Sand Creek Byway project.

The Lakeside Inn is located at 106 Bridge Street. Parking will be available in the City Beach parking lot located at the end of Bridge Street.

Joining Gov. Otter will be Lt. Gov. Jim Risch, U.S. Sens. Larry Craig and Mike Crapo, U.S. Rep. Bill Sali, Idaho Transportation Board Chairman Darrel V Manning, and Idaho Transportation Department Director Pamela Lowe.

David Keyes, community leader and publisher of the Bonner County Daily Bee, will serve as emcee.

The public also is invited to attend a reception sponsored by the Ponderay Community Development Corporation (PCDC), at the Elks Lodge in Ponderay immediately following the ceremony.

An alternate route on U.S. 95 away from downtown Sandpoint has been a topic of local interest since the 1940s. The final environmental work on the project was completed and approved by the Federal Highway Administration in May 2000. Construction is set to begin next month.

The Sand Creek Byway is 2.1 miles of new alignment connecting U.S. 95, from the northern end of the Long Bridge, directly to Idaho 200 and U.S. 95 north of Sandpoint. The project includes six bridges, 24 retaining walls and a pedestrian/bike pathway.

Parsons RCI of Sumner, Wash., is the contractor for the $98 million project.