Corridor traffic project bumped up
Crews work on a traffic improvement project at the intersection of Government Way and Wilbur Avenue on Tuesday.
BILL BULEY/Press
A major traffic improvement project scheduled to begin in the spring instead got underway Monday thanks to an almost snowless winter so far in Coeur d’Alene.
“This is definitely not normal,” said Todd Feusier, director of the city’s Streets and Engineering Department.
While plow crews would normally have cleared snow from streets at least a few times by now, they have not been ordered out even once.
That not only saves money and wear and tear on streets but allows staff to perform other maintenance, Feusier said.
“We just work on different things,” he said.
It also opened the door for the city to bump up traffic signal work on Government Way, from Harrison Avenue to Prairie Avenue.
The project includes upgrading traffic signal components at 10 intersections, bringing pedestrian ramps into ADA compliance and improving coordination between signals for better traffic flow.
Current signal lights have detection to let the signal controller know when a vehicle arrives, but each signal operates independently.
For now, the focus will be on installing the new traffic signals. In March, they hope to begin concrete work on the ramps.
The first intersection work is being done at Wilbur Avenue. It will be followed by Canfield Avenue. They hope to finish the project by August, but how quickly the work progresses will depend on the weather.
“They’ll keep going on this as long as they can,” Feusier said.
Most intersections will be upgraded to video detection. Cameras would be for detection purposes only.
During construction, signals will be periodically decommissioned and traffic restrictions will be in place, prohibiting left turns and cross traffic across Government Way, according to a city press release.
Only one intersection will be impacted at a time to allow traffic to use other signalized intersections for travel.
Crews are working from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. to reduce traffic impact as much as possible.
In October, the Coeur d’Alene City Council unanimously approved a $2.3 million contract with Thorco, Inc., for the Government Way Signal and ADA Improvements Project.
It is being funded through a Local Highway Technical Assistance Council grant.