Temporary Highway 5 lane opens between Plummer, St. Maries

PLUMMER — A short temporary lane of Highway 5 between Plummer and St. Maries opened on Wednesday — more than two weeks after soggy soil caused the road to crumble.

The temporary 500-foot lane has signals at both ends to guide traffic and will be open to both regular and commercial traffic until the road is permanently fixed.

A solid concrete guardrail was placed on the edge of the temporary route to protect motorists.

Work on the temporary route began Thursday. Crews placed a rock base, rolled it to compact it, and placed a layer of top fill gravel and dirt on Tuesday.

The damaged stretch will be rebuilt over the next several months. Work will not begin until geologists determine the stability of the road.

The new temporary route will be paved with 2.5 inches of asphalt on Friday, starting at 8 a.m. and finishing by 3 a.m. This timeframe as chosen because it will affect the fewest travelers, as the lowest traffic volumes are overnight.

The temporary route will be completely closed during the paving. Detour routes are Idaho 6 to the south, connecting with U.S. 95, or Idaho 3 to the north, connecting to Interstate 90.