Road construction on Idaho 55 near Smiths Ferry has stopped for the winter with both lanes of traffic open.
The roadway will stay open in both directions until construction resumes mid-March.
When that happens, traffic will be reduced to one-way alternating flow and full closures Mondays through Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
A Nov. 18 rock slide closed the roadway at the Smith Ferry project site for almost three weeks.
The slide consisted of about 50,000 cubic feet of rock, sand and boulders and happened in an area that was considered finished.
A 400-foot-long and 20-foot-tall retaining wall was built to temporarily stabilize the slide area until a permanent solution for that section is determined.
“The next few months will be spent designing the long-term plan for the slide area that will include what to do with the current rock wall structure,” said ITD Chief Communications Officer Vince Trimboli.
Trimboli did not respond when asked if there was an internal review underway on whether the slide was caused by flawed design or construction.
The project focuses on straightening and improving about a mile of road between Smiths Ferry and the Rainbow Bridge. It is expected to be completed in the fall of 2022.
In total, there have been about 18,000 feet of retaining walls built throughout the project and 74 blasts made, which helped to remove about 194,000 cubic yards of material, ITD said.
The project was about 60 percent completed and was budgeted to cost about $25 million.
— Max Silverson, The Star-News, (McCall), Thursday
Proposal to council for EV charging stations
GRANGEVILLE — An increase in electric vehicles (EV) is on its way, and proponents for capturing the halfway point charging market spoke to the Grangeville City Council last week, seeking support to place two power-up stations on municipal property.
“We’re in the most perfect position for this,” said Tim McDonald, director, Ida-Lew Economic Development Council, at the Dec. 6 meeting.
Kamiah businessman Larry Nims, and — by phone — Lisa Hecht, of Boise, discussed available grant funding to install fast-charging stations, specifically two proposed for a location in the city hall parking lot. As a public entity, all purchase and installation costs would be covered 100 percent, and these would be centrally located between Spokane and Boise for EV travelers to charge or top off. Fees would be set by the owner — whether the city or another entity was not elaborated on — and receive revenue generated from charging.
“The glut is coming early next year,” Nims said, reaffirmed by Hecht saying, “These are growing exponentially. It’s just going to explode in spring with the new (Ford) 150 and Chevy Eldorado, and what’s projected is an absolute dearth of charging stations. ... Even though we’re not seeing a lot of (EVs) today, we will see those numbers jump.”
Overall, costs were line-itemed by McDonald, totaling initially between $155,000 to $160,000 for new transmission pole installation, purchase of two charging stations, a concrete pad and connection to power. Credit card payments are taken at the station, and a five-year warranty provides for maintenance and technician support.
“If we can talk you folks into letting us play in your back parking lot and take ownership of this,” McDonald said, “as a government agency, it’s all free; the equipment, the costs, the Avista charges, everything there including the five-year warranty.”
— David Rauzi, Idaho County Free Press, (Grangeville), Wednesday
Stories in this Regional News Roundup are excerpted from weekly newspapers from around the region. This is part one, with part two set to appear in Sunday’s Tribune.
