U.S. 95: Here's how to fix it

Highway 95 is a clogging artery, just waiting for its heart attack.

How about a 10-year plan for blockage elimination?

A combination of overpasses, subterranean roadways, roundabouts and fewer left turn options could virtually eliminate stopped traffic. After all, when you're stopped, you're not going anywhere. Thank you, Yogi.

Traffic ebb and flow consumes roadway, fuel, tires, brakes, and everyone's time and patience. It triggers crashes.

Eventually, Coeur d'Alene will experience some summertime ozone alert days, partly because of traffic sitting, stopping and going, and stopping and sitting again. Then the EPA and other intrusive entities will be telling us what to do and how to do it. It's a safe bet their "solutions" will cost more and do less than this plan.

What is the point of sitting at an intersection, staring at cars stacked at three other lights, waiting for the system to let something happen?

At the 90/95 intersection, a cloverleaf would be the obvious solution to gummed-up flow. The businesses on that turf might have some objections.

Alternately, tunnels, overpasses and a partial cloverleaf could clear that bottleneck, eliminating all lights and promoting steady flow.

Is it really necessary to have a left turn option at every stoplight along Highway 95?

Subterranean roads with overpasses at ground level could alleviate much congestion. Additionally, there would be thousands of cubic yards of high-quality native Idaho dirt to sell, to offset some of the expense. Perhaps a vein of silver, or some bubbling crude, would be discovered, further offsetting construction expenses.

Roundabouts where there's sufficient territory available, are an alternative. Overpasses or underpasses for left turns are another option.

Costs. There's a proposed $40-ish million project to vastly alter the McEuen Field facilities, none of which will be tax dollars, we're told. Perhaps some of those same type easy-money dollars could be located to get a Fix-95 Project off the ground.

What are the alternatives? Smarter stoplights? Stoplights just aren't that smart. Why stop when you can be moving?

A Huetter Road bypass? Widen 95? Do nothing? Gridlock is just around the corner.

A project like this really is an investment, unlike hundreds of billions flushed to save banks that should have failed, and come 2,022 Coeur d'Alene citizens, tourists and passers-through will all be glad there are no stoplights wasting man-years of peoples' time.

NICK GUYOL

Coeur d'Alene