County flush with bridge work

PONDERAY — Bonner County’s deck is stacked with bridge work this summer.

Projects to replace the aging and battered Dover and Lightning Creek bridges are set to get under way in the coming months as work continues on the U.S. Highway 95 bypass, which is a network of bridge structures.

Bids were opened earlier this month on a project to replace Dover Bridge, a 72-year-old span which has one of the lowliest sufficiency ratings in the state.

Sletten Construction Co. of Great Falls, Mont., is the apparent low bidder on the $21.6 million project. The bid came in substantially lower than the projected cost of $36.8 million.

Idaho Transportation Department Engineer Ken Sorensen said the falling price of steel was a factor in the reduced bid price.

“There was a $5 million savings on steel prices,” Sorensen told the Ponderay Community Development Corp. during its membership luncheon on Thursday.

Late last year, Sletten submitted the winning bid on the $6.4 million Lightning Creek Bridge replacement in Clark Fork. Sorensen said the Sletten is mobilizing its equipment and resources this week.

Sletten built the Thompson Park Bridge on the north side of Highway 200 in Hope last year, despite a punishing amount of snowfall. Sorensen said Sletten officials contend northern Great Plains winters easily trump winters in the Inland Northwest.

“They’re not afraid to work in the winter,” Sorensen said.

Unlike the Westmond and Clark Fork bridge replacement projects, the existing Dover and Lightning Creek bridges will ultimately be removed.

Barbara Babic, ITD’s District 1 spokeswoman, said the two latter bridges are too dinged up to be preserved for historical purposes. The new bridges will be wider than their predecessors and free of overhead obstructions.