BANKS, Idaho — Road construction season is gearing up and there are a lot of projects in the works that have already started or will begin in the next couple of weeks.
One of those projects includes repairs to the nearly 100-year-old Rainbow Bridge on Highway 55 north of Smith's Ferry. The Idaho Department of Transportation will install a new bridge in either 2028 or 2029.
"We are working through the environmental process and some design options," said Dan Gorley of ITD. "We have been doing geotechnical work and soil investigation trying to determine different types of foundations and walls to straighten out the geometry and try to make it a lot safer."
In the meantime, the Idaho Transportation Department needs to make sure the historic bridge is safe. Starting on Monday they will begin repairs on the joints on top of the bridge, the floor beams and also underneath the bridge.
The Idaho Transportation Department will have flaggers on site Monday through Thursday with one lane of traffic running until the end of summer. The future of the Rainbow Bridge remains in question and ITD will also have a river flagger for boaters running the Cabarton section on the North Fork of the Payette River.
"We need to ensure that our old bridge can continue to allow commercial traffic to drive across it," said Gorley. "It is pretty important to our northern citizens in our northern communities."
Drivers heading east at Banks can also expect road construction starting on Monday, May 12, through the end of the month. The Boise County Road and Bridge Department will be doing ditch work in between Garden Valley and Lowman.
The road will be closed at the end of Garden Valley near the airport from 8 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 5 p.m. on Monday through Thursday. It will be important to plan ahead because the road will only be open during the day from noon to 1 p.m.
The Idaho Transportation Department is also finishing up the new signal light at Banks, that will be operational on Monday.
ITD will also have several other projects going on, I actually got stopped by flaggers near Gardena, they are doing bridgework in the canyon and they have a plan to do some chip seal work north of Horseshoe Bend.
The best way to stay up to date on traffic changes is through Idaho 511 and ITD's social media accounts. The Idaho Transportation Department asks drivers to slow down and be safe near construction zones.
"Please be patient we want our folks to go home at night after they get done working, and we want the folks traveling on the road to be safe," said Gorley. "Maybe, consider taking U.S. 95, it could save you some time."
