COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho — Going to work or running errands on Interstate 90 will become a lot easier for those in North Idaho by 2029.
From Post Falls to Coeur d’Alene, the interstate is set to receive a nearly $200 million makeover.
The project is fully funded by the state’s transportation expansion and congestion mitigation funds from Governor Little’s leading initiative.
One of the reasons the state wanted to make this big change is due to how congested the freeway can get during peak times. The goal of the project is to make getting through the Rathdrum Prairie smoother and quicker. To achieve that, the Idaho Transportation Department adding two lanes to each side of I-90 between Highway 41 and Highway 95 as well as lengthening the on and off ramps.
“We’ve had a lot of growth over the last few years,” said ITD District 1 public information officer Heather McDaniel. “It doesn’t seem like that’s going to slow down by 2045.”
McDaniel says traffic volume in the Rathdrum Prairie will double over the next two decades and these improvements will help make the road safer and easier to navigate.
“We have a lot of space in the inside median of the highway,” said McDaniel. “Most of our expansion is going to happen inward rather than outward, just to minimize impact on neighboring properties, residential homes, businesses, things like that.”
Not everyone is on board with the construction though. Many of the neighbors along I-90 worry noise will only get worse for their neighborhoods.
“It’ll be four lanes each way. Replacing, rebuilding some of the bridge structures between here and there. Doing some work with some of them on, off ramps to make merging a bit safer,” McDaniel said
Construction is expected to begin late this spring and last through 2029.
“We’re thinking sometime between May and June. No later than the beginning of July,” McDaniel said.
Though construction hasn’t begun yet, McDaniel wanted to give a heads up to drivers in the area.
“We’re just encouraging everybody to be very aware and cautious as you’re traveling through those work zones, not only for themselves but also for the safety of the workers,” she said.
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