Work on widening stretch of highway between Thorn Creek Road and Moscow could start this summer
If the Idaho Transportation Department dodges a few final potholes over the next several weeks, it can begin the long-delayed final phase of the project to widen U.S. Highway 95 between the top of the Lewiston Hill and Moscow this summer.
ITD originally planned to complete the entire stretch in a single two-year project in 2006 and 2007. But the department’s choice to route the section between Thorn Creek Road and Moscow over the western haunch of Paradise Ridge prompted legal actions and a federal environmental review, delaying construction until at least this year.
Now project engineer Ken Helm thinks that work will finally begin in 2021. He expressed faith that ITD will soon obtain a wetlands permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The permit should also pave the way toward acquisition of the final sections of right of way for the new route.
“I do anticipate getting that through the whole process, probably within a month or so,” Helm said of what is commonly referred to as a 404 permit. “We’ve got about six parcels yet to purchase, and I’m anticipating three of those will be done within a month. Then I’ve got a couple of property owners who wanted the 404 permit signed before they wanted to negotiate on their property.”
Right -of-way acquisition was also slowed in the latter half of 2020 by the coronavirus pandemic and harvest season, which kept some of the property owners busy in their fields and away from the bargaining table, Helm added.