Greensferry River Crossing unlikely

The road to developing the Greensferry River Crossing has been long and winding, but after several months of serious planning, that road is heading toward a dead end.

Though the Post Falls Highway District hasn't taken the final action, Commissioner Todd Tondee said the board had instructed HDR Engineers to stop Phase 2 preparations.

"We did have discussions at our last board meeting and received news from the engineer that it is going to be very difficult and not cost-effective to get the bridge permitted by the Coast Guard," Tondee said. "We asked our engineer to come back with a plan to wind up their contract. This is what we will be looking at at our next meeting."

During the last PFHD meeting on Feb. 17, the district was presented information by HDR Project Manager Daniel Baker that the U.S. Coast Guard wouldn't permit the proposed bridge. As part of the feasibility study required with any project, Commissioner Lynn Humphreys said the engineering firm made contacts with multiple jurisdictions with authority over waterways.

"We were jumping through the hoops, and when we got to the Coast Guard, that is when we got the news that they wouldn't permit a bridge across the river," Humphreys said. "It is due to the fact that it is a navigable water form into Lake Coeur d'Alene, and if we built the bridge, there wasn't going to be enough clearance for some of the masts on sailboats."

The notion of relocating the bridge or redesigning it as a drawbridge had come up, Humphreys said. Still, the initial reasoning for the Greensferry location was that it would save taxpayer money by using the 50 feet of right of way already owned by the highway district.

However, because of the new restrictions, the cost-saving caveat was lost.

"We got some information at the last meeting that it is not likely we will overcome," Tondee said.

Initially, when HDR engineers presented the bridge's preliminary cost to the district, the engineers had estimated a range of $50 million to $60 million. With the new provisions, HDR estimated it could have been close to $90 million or $100 million, a hard number to swallow for the taxpayers that would have voted for it as a bond initiative.

"Over a 20-year or 30-year lifespan of the bond, it would've made it so unrealistic taxpayers couldn't afford to do it," Humphreys said. "We live in the district too, and it would impact us a lot too — not that it influenced us one way or another."

After a neighborhood meeting on the project in September, PFHD Commissioner Terry Werner told The Press that the district has talked about putting a bridge back at Greensferry for about 27 years. Humphreys concurred, especially with the growth he's seen over the last 26 years on the commission.

"We still feel strongly that we need another bridge across as growth and development take place," Humphreys said. "Right now, the Stateline and Spokane Street and the Blackwell Island Bridges are the only kinds of access for emergency first responders. If something were to happen to those, the time frame for someone trying to get help would be extended way beyond what is realistic for medical assistance."

The commissioners will likely take up the Greensferry River Crossing conversation at the March 3 meeting of the PFHD, which will be streamed live on Facebook.