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95 construction planned
Construction is expected to begin June 1 on a nine-mile segment of U.S. 95 between Grangeville and Cottonwood, the Idaho Transportation Department announced. ITD and the project contractor Poe Asphalt Paving Inc., of Clarkston, Wash., will conduct weekly construction meetings in Grangeville to keep the public apprised of progress. Meetings will be on Thursdays at 2 p.m. (PDT) at 71 Eimers Lane, beginning June 3. They are open to the public. Funding of the $2.8 million project is through the federal stimulus program the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), which was created to sustain or generate new jobs through investments in highway infrastructure. U.S. 95 will be reconstructed between mileposts 242 and 251, beginning about three miles north of Grangeville near the Johnson Road junction to the beginning of the concrete section near Cottonwood. The existing surface will be removed, recycled and reapplied to the highway as a base for a new 2 1/2 -inch asphalt surface, a process known as CRABS (cement recycled asphalt base stabilization). Highway surface grinding will begin in mid-June, and the project should be completed in early August. ITD project engineer Bob Schumacher said multiple two-mile lane closures will be required after construction begins. Traffic will be limited to a single lane through the project area and will be controlled by flaggers and a pilot car. Motorists should be prepared for changing traffic patterns, he advised. The project will include some shoulder grading before construction begins. |
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