Officials look to replace bridges

The Idaho Transportation Department is preparing a multi-year, $200 million effort to replace the Spalding and Arrow bridges east of Lewiston.

The state agency is in the initial stages of environmental analysis and is seeking public comments on the work that could begin late next year and run through 2029. Project manager Mark Campbell said each rebuild carries an estimated cost around $100 million and the state hopes to pay for them through the sale of Transportation Expansion and Congestion Mitigation (TECM) bonds.

However, the department is leaving the door open for the possibility of federal funding. Because of that, it is preparing a National Environmental Policy Act analysis for each rebuild. The law requires agencies to examine the environmental impacts of major federal actions. That includes state projects that are paid for in whole or in part with federal dollars.

“Right now, we are using the TECM funds, which is all state. But in the future this very well could have at least some federal funds on it. So just to be sure, we are following federal guidelines,” Campbell said.

The projects have the potential to negatively affect habitat for threatened and endangered salmon and steelhead and other aquatic species in the Clearwater River. Both bridges are on the Nez Perce Indian Reservation and in areas with heavy historic use by the tribe. Because of that, the analysis will also look at the potential for the projects to affect tribal cultural resources.

Spalding Bridge is on U.S. Highway 95 and Arrow Bridge is on U.S. Highway 12. Campbell said the plans call for Spalding Bridge to be replaced with a pair of two-lane spans and for Arrow Bridge to be replaced with a wider bridge.

The new bridges will be constructed offline — meaning adjacent to the existing bridges that will remain in use during construction. Once they are finished, the old bridges will be removed.

“Because of how these bridges are going to get built, pretty much offline, we would really like to see them built at the same time,” said Campbell. “The impact to traffic is going to be very minimal.”

Transportation officials held a public meeting about the projects at the Clearwater River Casino on Wednesday, when they answered questions and collected comments. A virtual version of the meeting is available at itdclearwatercrossings.com/.

Barker may be contacted at ebarker@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2273. Follow him on Twitter @ezebarker.