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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Eye On Boise

ITD taps stimulus to eliminate Highway 95 bottleneck at Garwood

The big Garwood-to-Sagle freeway project on U.S. Highway 95 in North Idaho won't have a two-lane bottleneck at its south end after all, the Idaho Transportation Board decided today. The board designated $15.8 million in economic stimulus funds toward expanding the stretch from Wyoming Avenue in Hayden to the Idaho 53 junction to four lanes; the money will come from savings after bids on other stimulus projects came in lower than expected. The Dover Bridge replacement alone came in $15.2 million below estimates; a freeway interchange in Boise came in $21.2 million low.

The highway already is four lanes south of Wyoming Avenue. But plans for the new freeway left a two-mile gap; legislation to fix that this year got shot down in last-minute scuffling between the House and Senate. Idaho Gov. Butch Otter said, "Funneling traffic from four lanes to two lanes in this short section creates a real safety risk that needs to be eliminated." He said, "Designating some of the savings from stimulus projects to this heavily traveled segment of U.S. 95 makes good sense."



Eye On Boise

News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.