Blasting to resume in Dover

DOVER — Extensive earth-moving work begins Monday for the new U.S. Highway 2 bridge, the Idaho Transportation Department has announced.

The work will be concentrated on the east side of the bridge. Blasting is tentatively scheduled to start later in the week, which means motorists should expect delays while crews detonate charges and clear any resulting debris.

Crews from M.A. DeAtley are planning to detonate charges one to two times a week at around 2 p.m. Blasting operations will continue through to late August or early September.

The escalation of work on the $22 million bridge will force the closure of the Sandpoint-to-Dover bike and pedestrian path at Chuck Slough. The path west of the slough will not reopen until 2011.

The project’s prime contractor, Sletten Construction, are stripping the Pier 5 cap form and pouring the cap for Pier 2 next week. Sletten will also commence work on the bearing pads on the pier caps and begin driving test pile for Pier.

The new bridge will replace a 295-foot trestle structure built during the Great Depression. It’s  the most restrictive bridge on U.S. 2 in Idaho. The new bridge will be 72 feet wide and an adjusted highway alignment will improve access to Dover. The new bridge also includes a bike/pedestrian path.