ITD begins Silver Valley summer bridge work

PINEHURST – Drivers looking to use certain bridges on the west end of the Silver Valley should expect intermittent delays and detours for much of the summer season.

Construction crews with the Idaho Transportation Department kicked off their five part bridge project on Monday, April 15 by starting work on the Pinehurst eastbound Interstate off-ramp.

ITD project manager Mason Palmer tells the News-Press that each part will address a different bridge project in the Silver Valley. Most of the bridges will be receiving hydro-demolition and concrete overlay work in an effort to keep the structures in working order. All of the bridges will also be getting a waterproof overlay.

“All of this work is being done under what we consider to be a pretty standard bridge rehab program,” Palmer said. “It’s intended to give the bridges a tune-up and extend the longevity of the bridges, as it is more cost effective than replacing the whole bridge.”

The first part of the project began on Monday, April 15 and is addressing both the Pinehurst eastbound I-90 off-ramp bridge and the westbound I-90 on-ramp bridge.

Work on the eastbound bridge requires a full closure of the off-ramp and the implementation of a detour.

“That detour will be through Kingston,” Palmer explained. “So instead of getting of at exit 45, folks are being prompted to exit at 43 and take Silver Valley Rd. from Kingston into Pinehurst.”

The westbound bridge on the other hand will be reduced to one-lane, requiring the use of a signal to direct traffic.

Work on these two bridges is expected to last until roughly the end of May after they have been paved and received the waterproof overlay.

Part two of the project will have crews hydro-demoing and applying concrete overlay to the Smelterville overpass on Airport Rd.

The work will require alternating single-lane closures with a signal controlling traffic. Neighboring I-90 on and off ramps will not be affected.

Hydro-demolition is scheduled to begin in the last week of April and the final waterproof overlay will be laid down towards the end of May.

Part three will occur just down I-90 from the other two projects at the Bunker Ave. overpass in Kellogg.

Same as the previous bridges, this overpass will be seeing hydro-demoing and concrete overlaying.

Crews will work on one side at a time and utilize a signal to control the single-lane flow of traffic. The adjacent I-90 on and off ramps will not be affected.

Construction is set to begin on April 24 and be completed by May 29.

Part four will occur back west at the Kingston overpass.

Since this bridge already received significant work last summer, crews will only be applying an epoxy and waterproof overlay to the deck.

“We get longer longevity out of bridges if we apply this epoxy overlay,” Palmer said. “We aren’t really doing anything with the structures.”

While this part should take less time to complete than the previous ones, it will require a full closure of the bridge for 2-3 days. The bridge’s I-90 on and off ramps will not be affected.

Work is estimated to begin on June 11 and fully complete around June 27. The full-bridge closure is scheduled for June 13-15.

The final part of the bridge project will have ITD returning to the Pinehurst westbound I-90 on-ramp.

Work crews will be stripping and repainting the “piles” (or steel pipes/poles) that the westbound on-ramp sits on top of. This is done to protect them from water damage.

This process will occur sometime in August when water levels are low and will last roughly 1-2 weeks. Only minor traffic delays are expected in that area.

Palmer explained that the start and end dates given for each part are only estimates and are subject to change due to various circumstances.

For more information on other ITD projects, visit https://itdprojects.org/