Bypass bid opening set for Tuesday

SANDPOINT — Bids for the U.S. Highway 95 bypass in Sandpoint are scheduled to be opened on Tuesday in Boise.

“I’m sure it will go down to the wire,” Idaho Transportation Department spokeswoman Barbara Babic said. “If everything goes smoothly and there aren’t any irregular bids or anything like that, it usually takes a few days to say, ‘We have a low bidder.’”

The Sand Creek Byway was put out to bid in April and ITD planned on opening them in May. However, the bid opening was pushed back at the request of contractors, Babic said.

“Because it was such a complex project, we felt giving the prime contractors a little time would be beneficial not only to them but also to us in terms of getting a good bid,” she said.

The official cost estimate for the highway re-routing project is $92 million, but project opponents maintain the total cost currently exceeds $100 million.

Babic said construction is still slated to start this year.

The North Idaho Community Action Network filed suit against the Federal Highway Administration over its approval of the project, but a U.S. District Judge rejected the claims, setting the stage for an expected appeal in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

NICAN’s lawsuit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ approval is pending.