FREEWAY FRENZY
BRIAN WALKER/Press Traffic on the Northwest Boulevard on-ramp converges with eastbound Interstate 90 traff1ic in Coeur d’Alene on Monday afternoon. Construction along the freeway between Coeur d’Alene and Post Falls will last throughout the summer.
This grapic shows traffic flow for the current Interstate 90 project between Post Falls and Coeur d'Alene. The eastbound lane division is due to repair work for the bridges over Huetter and Atlas roads. (Courtesy of Idaho Transportation Department)
Sausser
By BRIAN WALKER
Staff Writer
COEUR d'ALENE — With drivers already again seeing orange on Interstate 90 between Coeur d'Alene and Post Falls — construction zones, that is — motorists are urged to use caution to reduce last-second decisions.
"The first week or two is always an adjustment, but things seem to be going pretty well overall," said Megan Sausser, Idaho Transportation Department spokeswoman. "Until drivers see the work, it can be hard to get them to slow down."
The 2019 edition of I-90 construction consists of repairing the bridges over Huetter and Atlas roads. The project that started last week is expected to wrap up before the Fourth of July.
Eastbound lanes are divided before the Huetter rest area, with the right lane remaining in place for access to the rest area and the Northwest Boulevard exit in Coeur d'Alene. The other lane crosses the median, joins westbound traffic over the bridges and crosses back into the normal eastbound lanes near Northwest Boulevard.
"If you want to get off at the (eastbound) rest area or Northwest Boulevard, you need to be in the right lane (before the division)," Sausser said. "That will be the hardest part to get used to because of the Northwest Boulevard exit."
Sausser said advance signage of the project in both directions seems to be working overall in terms of traffic flow, although some drivers are still going to be caught off guard at the last second by the eastbound lane split, especially if it's their first time through.
Sausser said the configuration is going better than last year's I-90 construction in terms of traffic flow due to the fact that drivers are now more familiar with split lanes.
"Some congestion through the construction zone could also be a result of drivers slowing down as they see law enforcement activity in the area," Sausser said. "We are grateful for (police) help keeping work zones safe."
Sausser said ITD will continue to monitor traffic flow and tweak warning devices, if necessary.
Speed on I-90 in the corridor has been reduced to 55 mph during construction.
Sausser said there will be a mirror-image crossover shift in early May to allow for the repair of the other sides of the bridges. However, at that point, drivers will have to make an advanced lane decision for the westbound rest area only. The Highway 41 interchange in Post Falls will not be impacted by the project.
Work on the project started last year when the crossover lanes were constructed in the middle of I-90 near Huetter. The crossover lanes allow two lanes to remain open in each direction during bridge repairs.
After the bridge work is completed, resurfacing of I-90 from Stateline to the Northwest Boulevard exit will occur from early July through September to reduce ruts.
"It will still feel painful this summer because of ongoing construction," Sausser said.
However, the resurfacing work will occur only at night.
"We're trying to time it to maximize mobility, but there's no getting completely around construction," Sausser said.
The freeway in that stretch will be reduced to one lane in each direction during construction.
The total cost of the project is $4 million, with 93 percent funded with federal dollars.
More information on the bridge maintenance project is at itdprojects.org/i90bridgespf. Information on the resurfacing project is at itdprojects.org/i90statelineresurfacing.