Bypass work forces walkway closure

SANDPOINT — The temporary walkway at the east end of Cedar Street Bridge will be closed until mid-May because of ongoing construction work for the U.S. Highway 95 bypass.

Excavation between the Cedar and Bridge street bridges will be done in a stair-step fashion down to the level of Sand Creek.

The work is being done to accommodate the footing for pre-cast panels that will be erected along Sand Creek below the Sandpoint Depot.

“Behind that, we place some cellular concrete fill and build up on it,” Shane Webley of Parsons RCI, the Sand Creek Byway’s lead contractor, said during this month’s construction update meeting.

Best Management Practices will be utilized along the shore to protect the creek.

Idaho Transportation Department spokeswoman Barbara Babic said the lightweight fill material is being used between the two bridges because of soil conditions and other factors.

“Lightweight fill was the best option,” Babic said.

Officials from Parsons and the Sandpoint Fire Department have held coordination meetings to develop an emergency access plan when after-hours functions are held on the Cedar Street Bridge. Further information about the plan was not immediately available.

Access to the depot will also be temporarily modified as work picks up in this area. Vehicles will still be able to access the depot via Bridge Street, although the parking area will be moved south of the building. There will be eight parking stalls and a pedestrian path lined with construction fencing will lead from the parking area to the depot.