It seems drivers can’t go more than a few miles on Interstate 90 through the Silver Valley without running into a stretch of road construction. Meanwhile, new projects seem to be popping up almost overnight.
The good news is that, unlike last summer when unusual weather caused numerous delays, many of this year’s projects are on track or even ahead of schedule, Idaho Transportation Department Senior Public Information Officer Megan Jahns said.
One of the longer stretches of construction, near the western base of I-90, is progressing right on schedule.
With enjoyably smooth new lanes, the project is nearing completion.
“Crews are currently working on building a concrete barrier for the median, installing the new drainage structures and repairing underground, deteriorated pipes,” Jahns said.
With drainage complete, paving and painting lines are all that remains.
ITD expects completion by the end of this season, but anticipates mop-up in spring 2024.
Westbound bridge replacements through Kellogg are much further along than their eastbound counterparts were at this time last year.
“Last year, when construction began, our first step was to build crossovers in the median to allow traffic in one direction to be crossed over the median to run on the other set of lanes,” Jahns said. “With those already built this year, it would look like we’re making quicker progress. We were able to start work on the bridges in March, rather than May.”
The bridge structure over Division Street is beginning to come together, and Jahns said the project will be at total completion in October.
The newest section of road work on I-90 between Wallace and Osburn is still in progress.
The plan is to repave that stretch of highway, as well as install a drainage system that will prevent the historically dangerous water-over-road dilemma that would occur near Wallace anytime a good rainstorm moved through the area.
Crews have spent the first part of the project scraping more than a foot of old paving materials from the former eastbound lanes, and they are now removing the debris.
The next step will be to rebuild the road and pave it by September’s end.
The other side of the project will wind up next summer before a similar project begins between Osburn and Wallace.
Travelers should check 511.idaho.gov for traffic impacts.