Government Way widening, paving work winds down
LOREN BENOIT/Press Construction crews work to flatten newly laid asphalt along Government Way north of Hanley Avenue last Thursday. The construction project includes two travel lanes in each direction, a center turn lane, two buffered bike lanes, and sidewalks. The project wraps up this fall.
COEUR d'ALENE — A construction project to turn Coeur d’Alene’s Government Way into a four-lane north and south route between Harrison Avenue and Prairie Avenue will be completed by Thanksgiving.
Paving four lanes of the final leg of the thoroughfare, a stretch of about a mile, began last summer at Hanley Avenue near the Silver Lake Mall and will be completed as soon as weather permits, said Gemma Puddy of JUB Engineers.
Once it’s done, the four-lane will be an alternative to U.S. 95, which parallels Government Way a quarter mile to the west and which sees as many as 35,000 vehicles daily.
Finishing sidewalks, striping, bicycle lanes and adding a traffic signal will, however, bump the completion date for the final segment of Government Way down the road a couple weeks, Coeur d’Alene City Engineer Chris Bosley said.
“The deadline is a little bit in flux,” Bosley said.
Change orders that included another traffic signal at Wilbur Avenue to accommodate a plan next year to punch Wilbur through to U.S. 95 was not part of the original project, for example.
The state plans to remove the Canfield Avenue traffic light on U.S. 95 and replace it with a new light at Wilbur and U.S. 95. That project has not yet been funded.
The $5 million Government Way paving and widening work — which includes 11-foot motor vehicle lanes, bicycle lanes on both sides of the four-lane road, 12-foot turn lanes and sidewalks on both sides of the street — was supposed to be completed this week.
Then it rained.
“There are always hiccups,” Puddy said. “They will have to wait until the next dry day to finish paving.”
The project has for several months bottlenecked the road, funneling traffic through the construction zone.
As crews finish final paving — as soon as the sun shines — Puddy said access into and out of businesses and properties on the east side of Government Way will be intermittently restricted.
“The crews will limit the restrictions as much as possible,” Puddy said. “But the curing time is vital for asphalt durability.”
Once the roadway paving is complete, crews will do final work, including sidewalks, approaches, lighting and utilities.
“Overall, this project will improve traffic flow, enhance pedestrian and bicycle connectivity and safety, and provide a smoother driving surface,” Puddy said.