Highway 95 improvements sure to lift parents’ spirits

One less “When will we get there?” whine on the way to Silverwood could be the most rewarding benefit of an upcoming project to widen Highway 95 between Wyoming Avenue and Ohio Match Road.

The 5-mile-plus, two-lane stretch of highway just north of Hayden is sandwiched between two four-lane sections. And with increased development in the area, it’s time to start planning to widen it to a four-lane divided highway, said Idaho Transportation Department project engineer Rick Bailey.

“There’s a bottleneck right now,” Bailey said.

Right now the ITD only has money for design work on the project, but it would likely cost $30 million to $40 million to build, Bailey said.

Traffic volumes on the southern portion of this section of the highway are about 21,300 cars a day, with traffic decreasing on the northern portion to about 15,800 vehicles a day.

Those who drive the route know that this two-lane section can cause delays and some dangerous driving in the four-lane sections leading into it. Often cars will speed up to pass slower vehicles before the highway narrows.

In addition to widening the highway, the Idaho Transportation Department plans a freeway-style interchange at Lancaster Road to avoid another traffic signal on the highway.

To learn more or give your opinion on the project, attend an open house from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday at the department’s district office, 600 W. Prairie Ave., Coeur d’Alene.

DUI busts

To the tune of “99 Bottles of Beer”:

199 drunken drivers on the road, 199 drunken drivers.

Pull one over. Throw him in jail.

One less drunken driver on the road.

The Washington State Patrol’s Spokane troopers arrested 199 motorists in January for driving under the influence.

That’s up from 193 last year and 123 in 2002.

Just a friendly reminder to lay off the bottles of beer if you’re going to be driving.

Dam crossings

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will allow vehicle traffic to continue crossing the Little Goose and Lower Granite dams on a limited basis.

Little Goose is open for crossings once an hour on the half hour from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday to Thursday.

Lower Granite is open from 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday-Saturday.

Before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, motorists could cross those dams and Lower Monumental any time they wanted.

“It’s a different world than it used to be,” said Gina Baltrusch, a spokeswoman for the Army Corps’ Walla Walla district.

Those living in the rural areas south of the Snake River must now take longer routes to travel.

Anyone 16 or older wanting to cross Lower Granite and Little Goose during the specified times must have photo identification. Vehicles may be searched.

There are still no plans to reopen another Snake River dam in Washington, Lower Monumental, to vehicle traffic.

For more information, call (888) DAM-INFO.

Unfriendly skies

It will probably come as no surprise to anyone who’s flown lately that airline service complaints to the U.S. Department of Transportation increased 17.2 percent last year compared to 2004.

Maybe it was because nearly one-quarter of flights were late. Or it could be that the complaints stemmed from the more than 6 passengers per 1,000 who reported mishandled baggage. Both statistics were worse than in the previous year.

Then again, it could just be that more people’s blood sugar dipped too low because of a lack of in-flight food service on most flights these days.

Remember when we used to complain about the quality of airline food? Those were the days.

Halfway there

Good news for Coeur d’Alene motorists: The Government Way Bridge replacement project has hit the halfway point.

The bridge has been closed since last year but is on track to reopen at the end of this summer.

The new $2.7 million bridge will meet current height requirements, which means no more trucks getting stuck underneath it on Interstate 90.

Rough roads

Getting There is still seeking nominations for the worst roads in the area.

The contact information to report your ruts, potholes and worse is at the end of this column.

Slow going

Crestline is reduced to just one lane from Francis to Lincoln as Avista crews remove several trees. Flaggers are directing traffic.

Freya Street traffic could also be slowed by tree trimming between Hartson and 29th.

Pines Road is scheduled to be reduced to one lane Tuesday and Wednesday south of Trent. In addition, only eastbound Trent traffic will be able to turn onto Pines.

Southbound McClellan is reduced to one lane from Seventh to Eighth.

Aubrey L. White Parkway has reopened to traffic after being closed for two weeks.