Highway work zooms your way
Highway 53 through Farragut State Park is among the North Idaho roads that will receive a sealcoat later this month. Photo courtesy of the Idaho Transportation Department
To extend the life of previously completed highway projects, sealcoats will be applied to several highways throughout the region starting next week.
Sealcoating projects scheduled to occur this summer along with their anticipated start date, location and length are as follows:
- July 9: Highway 3 — 31 miles from the Coeur d’Alene River Bridge to the Canyon Creek Road area
- July 16: Highway 58 — 3 miles from the Washington state line to the U.S. 95 junction
- July 17: Highway 54 — 3.5 miles from the Goodhope Road traffic circle through Farragut State Park
- July 18: U.S. 95 — 6 miles from Fawn Lane to the Idaho Highway 1 junction
- July 19: U.S. 95 — 19 miles from Samuels Road to Tamarack Street
Crews will repaint the highways after sealcoating. All work is expected to be completed by early August.
When sealcoats are applied, roadways will be reduced to one lane. Motorists should anticipate short delays and watch for pilot cars.
Sealcoating is a roadway surface treatment best applied during the hot and dry months of summer, when chips of aggregate will properly adhere to an oil layer deposited on the highway.
The newly treated surface helps preserve the pavement and provides for better vehicle traction.
Drivers should slow down and pay attention within the work zones, as chips placed during the sealcoating process have the potential to cause windshield damage.