MOSCOW, Idaho — Plans to expand U.S. 95 south of Moscow, Idaho, are one step closer to construction, according to the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD). The agency announced March 18 that it has been granted a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers to proceed with the project.
“This permit was one of the last few hurdles to get our plans out to construction and make the highway safer,” said Ken Helm, the ITD project manager who has overseen expansion efforts since 1998. “Now we can finally address the last two-lane section between Lewiston (Idaho) and Moscow.”
The permit approves the evaluation and mitigation of permanent wetlands that will be affected by shifting the highway less than a mile to the east and adding two more travel lanes. The new route will be flatter, feature wider shoulders and have fewer access points to improve safety. According to IDT, the expansion will reduce travel times for the 7,300 drivers who take this route each day.
“Our next step is to finish working with property owners to acquire the last remaining parcels of land necessary for expansion,” Helm said. “We aim to bid this project this summer, which means we could start construction this fall.”
Construction is expected to take two years and has an estimated price tag of $60 million. For more information, click here.
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The wealthy grandees of Paradise Ridge have finally exhausted their foot-dragging options to keep the long-delayed Highway 95 project from going forward. Completion of the new route, widening and straightening the right-of-way to make the sole north-south interstate highway through the Idaho Panhandle safer for all of its users, can finally begin, and long overdue.