LOAD: Mega may make mighty mess

Wake up North Idaho. We are about to get yet another Megaload, this one weighing ONE MILLION pounds, coming up U.S. 95 and east on Highway 200 to Montana. This unit will cross many bridges, including the Sandpoint Long Bridge. My concern is, are all of these bridges engineered and designed to carry this weight? I doubt any on them are.

Boise ITD headquarters will not disclose the permit fees numbers. When this came up earlier, the state only collected a few hundred dollars for the permits. I would surely hope the contractor hauling the project has posted a multi-million dollar surety bond in case of failure to any of the bridges in Idaho. This should also cover mandatory underwater bridge inspection on all bridges crossed.

Five days notice is not enough time for public input and a public hearing. Looks like another “Rush Job.”

Folks, this is public infrastructure and we are entitled to answers and a public hearing. The Kootenai Tribe should weigh in as well. I would hope our ITD Board member, Jim Coleman (an engineer), offered comments at the board meeting. The current long bridge is 33 years old, and there are four more in the north that must be utilized, including the concrete structure/pilings on Highway 200 as you enter Hope. Is the reward worth the risk and possible closure to critical transportation links?

CLAY LARKIN

Post Falls