Highway 200 shifted slightly

PONDERAY — Motorists are urged to use caution and heed the directions of flaggers now that part of Highway 200 has been shifted to accommodate construction of the U.S. 95 bypass.

About 400 feet of Highway 200 was shifted toward the center line, according to the Idaho Transportation Department. Construction trucks will also be accessing the highway in this area.

Mass excavation on both sides of 200 east of the Y interchange is still ongoing.

“We’re getting ready to wrap up our mass excavation operations by the 15th of October,” said Shane Webley of Parsons RCI, the Sand Creek Byway’s lead contractor.

Wick drain installation for the retaining wall in this area is done and installation of the wall’s vertical face is scheduled to start in about two weeks. Excavation for a pier on the south side of the highway for an overpass is under way and pile driving operations are pending.

Temporary sheet piles for the overpass are being installed on the north side of 200. Excavation for this pier is slated to begin this week.

At the south end of the project, traffic has been shifted to the alignment at the northwest end of the Long Bridge. This segment of road will be utilized for north and southbound traffic for the next two years, although it will ultimately become the route southbound motorists will use to get from downtown to the Long Bridge.

Traffic jams have been reported in this area, although Parsons officials suspect the delays have more to do with rubberneckers.

“I think it’s just gawkers, really,” Webley said. “It was probably people wanting to see what’s going on.”