Dover path closing at Chuck Slough

DOVER — The Dover bike and pedestrian path will be closed west of Chuck Slough until 2011 because of construction of the new U.S. Highway 2 alignment and bridge.

The closure on the heavily-used pathway connecting Dover and Sandpoint goes into effect on Monday.

The Idaho Transportation Department decided against the development of a temporary pathway around the Dover Bridge construction zone because of costs and priorities.

“The cost was just prohibitive. The main focus of this project is replacing the bridge,” said ITD spokeswoman Barbara Babic.

Between the cost of materials, labor and impacts to the lead contractor’s construction schedule, Babic estimated the temporary path could cost up to $250,000.

Avista Utilities is replacing power poles and some lines in Dover, which would have also forced the path’s closure west of the slough.

The new bridge was designed 15 years ago. A new bike path has always been a part of that plan, but a temporary path never was.

The plan sat idle for years because of a lack of state highway funding. The plan was dusted off last year and submitted for funding through the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act. The federal funding was approved, although Babic said the ARRA deadlines were too tight for ITD to introduce changes to the plan.

Project officials are asking the public to be patient and emphasizing that the new path will be superior to the old one.

Project consultant Ed Florence of David Evans & Associates pointed out that making an omelet involves breaking an egg.

“This omelet is going to be great,” said Florence.

But the partial closure will undoubtedly be a cause for rancor, as was the case when Union Pacific demanded the removal of a section of trail a developer built on the railroad’s right of way in Dover without permission. City officials have said they hear more grumbling about construction impacts to the trail than they do roads.

State Rep. George Eskridge, R-Dover, expects to catch grief, but defends ITD’s decision to focus its efforts on the new bridge. Eskridge said simply reopening Sletten Construction’s $22 million contract would cost tens of thousands of dollars.

“It’s going to be a better bridge and it’s going to be a better path. People just need to be patient,” he said.