Idaho Transportation Board approves funding to study US-95 Long Bridge for replacement

SANDPOINT-Today the Idaho Transportation Board approved $200,000 to start studying replacementoptions for the Long Bridge on U.S. Highway 95 near Sandpoint.

"Up until now, we have been performing maintenance projects to delay replacing this expensive structure until it reached 100 years old," District Engineer Damon Allen said. "But as we've looked to widen US-95 south of town, we've heard from the public that they want us to look at this sooner rather than later."

The study is expected to start in 2025, with the goal of seeking grant funding to finish the study and design. It would include public outreach and updating environmental evaluations. This would be separate from the ongoing plansto make US-95 safer and capable of handling the increase of traffic between Sagle and Lakeshore Drive, though neither is funded for construction.

The existing bridges-one for vehicles, and the other for pedestrians-were built in 1981and 1956respectively. The pedestrian bridge, which originally served vehicles, is no longer able to safely carry trafficand is severely weight restricted.

Previousstudies have identifiedone four-lane bridge with shoulders and a separated bike and pedestrian facility to replace the two existing two-lane bridges. Costs and staging would be identifiedin later studies, but the initialestimate for building the northbound half of the proposed structure, including a bike and pedestrian facility,is at least $225 million.

"This money will allow staff to begin preliminary planningand pursue grant applications for design," Allen said.