Making way for the future

COEUR d'ALENE — The roar of heavy machinery, bright orange delineator posts and "road closed" signs were all in place Monday as work on the Mullan Road Improvement Project officially began.

"They're setting up traffic control, doing mobilization, which means that they are going to get all of their equipment set up this week," Dennis Grant, engineering department project manager for the city of Coeur d'Alene, said Monday morning. "They're going to bring in all their equipment, all the materials they need such as piping, loaders, backhoes, whatever they might need, and set up perimeters.

"This is the first phase of the Four Corners project."

The Four Corners master plan involves about 40 acres of land and encompasses Independence Point, parking adjacent to the Museum of North Idaho, Mullan Road, Memorial Field and the Bureau of Land Management property that extends from River Avenue to Riverstone.

The nearly $1.5 million Mullan Road Improvement Project is being conducted by the city, Welch Comer Engineers, ignite cda and Cameron-Reilly Concrete.

According to the March 25 Mullan Road Construction Newsletter, the Mullan Road project scope includes the reconstruction of Mullan from Garden Avenue to Northwest Boulevard, a new public plaza in front of Memorial Field — where the Playland Pier carousel is planned to be installed — and a new parking lot. The old grandstand is staying, the skate park is staying and none of the trees in City Park will be removed, confirmed Welch Comer president and project manager Phil Boyd.

The construction will expand outdoor recreational uses in the Four Corner/BLM area. Plans show a gateway arch at the plaza entrance, a commuter trail and at least one public art opportunity.

"Mullan Road is currently a 'vehicle-focused' road and divides City Park from Memorial Field and future Four Corners/BLM Corridor recreational uses," the newsletter states. "Once completed, Mullan Road (recently renamed Fort Grounds Drive) will be a 'pedestrian-focused' corridor."

The project will make Mullan more walking-friendly with options to close it off from traffic during events such as Art on the Green and Ironman. Traffic circles and a speed table will require drivers to slow.

"When it's finished, it's going to be a useable pedestrian public space that can be safely enjoyed," Boyd said.

Boyd said the road will be reduced from five lanes to two, which will make it easier and safer to cross.

"You see your kids running to the park, you're less concerned because they have a straight pedestrian shot to get to the park," he said.

Grant said a great thing about the project is that although Mullan will be closed from Northwest Boulevard to Garden Avenue during construction, that area now has several outlets thanks to the education corridor.

"There won't be a lot of flaggers down there because of the detour routes," he said. "We have a lot of exits out of the Fort Grounds area."

Boyd said this project is the cornerstone of a series of projects that will occur to the west; once Mullan Road is completed, traffic flow from that area to new developments will be more convenient.

"Those (projects) are going to have people who are going to want to move back and forth between City Park and those future areas," he said.

The scheduled completion date for the Mullan Improvement Project is July 26.