Payette River bridge project still on track

By JESSICA KELLER
ARGUS OBSERVER
Thursday, September 25, 2008 2:15 PM PDT

The plans to replace the northbound truss bridge over the Payette River on U.S. Highway 95 between Fruitland and Payette is still on schedule for the old one to be removed and a new one built, however, the project is still in its final design phase. Once the final designs are completed and the bid package reviewed, the Idaho Department of Transportation, which is funding the project, will advertise for bids. Construction is expected to begin in the summer of 2009.

FRUITLAND — While questions regarding money for Gem state road projects linger, at least one area venture is still on the planning board according to Idaho Transportation Department officials.

The beleaguered Payette River bridge project to replace the northbound truss span is still a go, though it may be a bit behind schedule. The plan to replace the northbound truss bridge on U.S. Highway 95 over the Payette River between Fruitland and Payette is in its final design stage ITD public relations specialist Reed Hollinshead said.

Hollinshead said final designs will be completed later this fall and then submitted to a district 3 plans, specifications and estimates (PS&E) review. Prior to Christmas, he said, the state will advertise for bids on the projects, and after 30 days, a bid will be accepted. Previously, ITD engineers estimated the final designs would be submitted for PS&E in August, and the project put out to bid sometime this fall. Construction was originally slated to begin in spring of 2009, but that has been pushed back a few months.

Hollinshead said the project should go into construction in the summer of 2009 and take about two years to complete.

Payette County Commissioner Larry Church said he has not heard anything lately regarding the project and presumes the current plans haven’t changed, but given the project’s history, he’s cautious about making predictions about the future. The project, he said, was put on the state’s road docket a number of years ago, but it has been postponed repeatedly, and future projects in Idaho are uncertain because of the economy.

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“Well, the governor’s already been telling them they better begin to cut back and at all the other state agencies,” Church said. “It just makes you concerned you know.”

Hollinshead said, however, for now, the project is still scheduled.

Currently, the northbound truss bridge, which was built in 1927, has width and height restrictions. The new bridge is slated to be 17 feet in height, which is 2 feet taller than the current bridge. The new bridge will abut the southbound bridge going from Payette to Fruitland. The project will also entail a roadway realignment of U.S. Highway 95 to the new bridge location, which is expected to be attached to the southbound bridge. The project will be paid through a combination of federal funding and the Idaho Highway Distribution account, which is the standard funding mechanism for state transportation projects. No settlement has been reached, so far, regarding a public access point to the river once the northbound bridge is rebuilt next to the southbound. Currently, the public accesses the Payette River from a small area between the two bridges, but that area will be taken up once the new bridge is constructed. County commissioners had discussed with ITD opening up a small public park or access point further down, off of Killebrew Drive, to allow people to reach the river, but Church said nothing more has been settled.

“It’s not particularly safe to begin with,” Church said of the current access point, adding it is the commissioners’ intention to secure that proposed piece of property downriver, however. Church added, he does believe the state is agreeable to the idea.

“I guess there hasn’t been a real push because they keep setting this bridge back, but if they ever get going there, we’ll approach it with a little more urgency,” he said.