Government Way about to get wider
Construction cones gate off pipeline work North of Canfield Avenue and Government Way on Thursday. The construction project includes two travel lanes in each direction as well as a center turn lane, sidewalks, bike lanes and stormwater improvements to the Dalton Water Association system.(LOREN BENOIT/Press)
Russel Seymour, left, and Gary Degroot with LaRiviere Construction work to replace the waterline North of Canfield Avenue and Government Way Thursday as part of the $4.5 million road widening project between Hanley and Prairie avenues. (LOREN BENOIT/Press)
Warming weather means construction zones are heating up, too.
Along Government Way in Coeur d’Alene north of Hanley Avenue, motorists are already seeing the signs of spring.
That’s where a $4.5 million road widening project between Hanley and Prairie avenues will soon break ground after it was postponed last season because contractors were in high demand.
The work, an extension of a project that added two lanes on the north and southbound tracks of Government Way between Dalton Avenue and Hanley, is expected to begin April 16.
The two-pronged project will add two travel lanes in each direction, as well as a center turn lane, sidewalks, bike lanes and stormwater improvements to the Dalton Water Association system.
On Monday, another aspect of the project will have crews from T. LaRiviere, Inc. of Coeur d’Alene, replacing sewer lines for Dalton Gardens. The lines run along Government Way. The road and sewer work is a partnership between the cities of Coeur d’Alene, Hayden, and Dalton Gardens, Lakes Highway District, and Dalton Water Association.
When it starts next month, roadwork will be done by Apollo Construction of Kennewick, Wash.
The road project was originally scheduled to start in mid-summer 2017 and finish last year, but high demand for contractors in a booming construction season pushed up bid prices, city administrators said.
A new schedule, which included another chance to gather bids and more time to prepare for and complete the work, helped lower the cost, city engineer Chris Bosley said.
“Most of it had to do with the schedule,” Bosley said. “It was too aggressive.”
The roadwork is slated to be done in October, but both projects are getting an earlier start, Bosley said.
“The rebid loosened up how much time was allowed, which helped get those prices down,” he said.
JUB Engineers of Hayden will oversee both phases of the work.