ITD dismisses walkway safety concerns

The Idaho Transportation Department says the pedestrian walkway railings on Memorial Bridge are “functional and safe” despite a video posted to Facebook pointing out missing washers, loose bolts and other problems.

In the video by Walk This Way Media, which can be viewed at bit.ly/4amK8Av, host Jesse Shroyer points out what he sees as safety issues and poor craftsmanship associated with the metal safety railing and the concrete finishing.

“If you don’t have a washer holding it down and there is a gap, you can take your rail system and you can move it,” he says in the video, while rocking the railing back and forth. “I’m not putting that much effort into this. Can everybody see that, does that look safe to you?”

Several of the footings have wooden shims beneath them. The railing is divided into several sections with concrete posts or pillars in between. Shroyer points out that the gaps between the railing and the posts are inconsistent. On one section, he notes there is a 4-inch gap on one side and a 1-inch gap on the other.

“That is just weird,” he says.

Walk This Way media is run by Shroyer and David Walk. Walk filmed the 10-minute video that was posted Jan. 5 and has since garnered more than 22,000 views and dozens of comments on Facebook. Shorter Instagram reels also highlighting the railing have close to five times as many views, they said.

While they haven’t returned to the bridge since they posted the videos, Walk and Shroyer have seen comments from viewers saying they have seen construction crews working on the railing system.

Mark Pfeifer, a spokesperson for the ITD, said in an email message to the Tribune that crews from Wadsworth Construction have addressed the railing.

“The sidewalks are functional and safe as crews perform touch-up work which includes additional fastening,” he wrote. “In addition, this spring the contractor will apply an overlay to preserve and smooth the deck surface before striping the lanes.”

A $38.5 million project to widen the bridge first constructed in 1951 started in 2023 and is now 98% complete. It opened fully to vehicle traffic last month following months of restricted lanes.

Walk and Shroyer said they have received some nitpicking comments for using the wrong terminology.

“That wasn’t our goal,” Walk said. “I don’t have to be an inspector to look and see that is shoddy work.”

“It was open to the public, so it should have been done in a safe manner,” Shroyer added.

Barker may be contacted at ebarker@lmtribune.com.