This heavily used bridge right next to Barber Park in Southeast Boise is now back open, with transportation officials telling me, it's stronger than ever before.
I'm your Southeast Boise neighborhood reporter Jessica Davis learning about how crews worked together to make major structural repairs so quickly.
This bridge, which allows drivers to cross over the Boise River in Boise, is back open after a five-week closure for emergency repairs.
A routine inspection in late Januaryuncovered that the wooden beams holding up the bridge were deteriorating.
The bridge was closed immediately, citing concerns about structural integrity.
David Dansereau, District 3 fleet manager for the Idaho Transportation Department, said,
"So, we installed some large pieces of steel on the outside of the wood. It butts up against the concrete on the top, and we poured a foundation of concrete on the bottom of it. The steel was bolted through the wood to hold it in place while we put everything together. Once it's in place, the steel is holding the weight of the bridge."
To make repairs, crews needed to divert the river water using an inflatable dam and pumps.
Dansereau added, "Our goal was to get this done and out before they started increasing those flows, and we actually made it. Once they started releasing waters and we got into the flood stage, we wouldn’t have been able to repair the bridge, and it would’ve remained closed all summer."
The bridge is now back open to drivers and pedestrians, and people who live nearby are thrilled to be done with detours.
Edward O’ Donnell lives near the bridge, he said, "It feels great. It's hard for us to go around. It just takes more time, so coming across this bridge is fantastic."
Dansereau with ITD said a job like this usually takes six to eight months to complete, but with low river levels and additional manpower from agencies across the state, they managed to get it done in just a few weeks.
Ed O'Donnell, a local resident, said, "They did a great job. I mean, every time I came through here to take Max for a little walk for my daughter, and I saw that going on, I thought, ‘This is going to be done pretty fast.’"
Dansereau said, "Somebody from all six of our districts was here helping with the project, which itself was amazing. Getting people from ITD districts working together is hard enough, but then throwing Ada County on top of it, it was incredible to watch these guys work.
Ada County Highway Districtis still working on plans to reconstruct the bridge and will be asking the public to weigh in during the design process. they expect to start the project in fall 2026.
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