Feds approve Garwood-to-Sagle freeway EIS

SANDPOINT — The Federal Highway Administration has approved the final environmental impact statement to convert U.S. Highway 95 into a controlled-access freeway between Bonner and Kootenai counties.

Federal highway officials issued a record of decision for the Garwood-to-Sagle corridor project on July 2, the Idaho Transportation said on Tuesday. The record of decision approves a selected alignment and allows the department to move ahead with developing specific construction projects within the transportation corridor.

Right of way acquisition will focus on the southern end of the corridor, from Boekel Road in Kootenai County to Granite Hill in Bonner County.

“The Transportation Board and the Legislature have already authorized funding for the design and purchase of right of way needed for these first stages,” ITD District 1 Engineer Damon Allen said in a statement. “Once final design work is completed, bidding packages will be prepared.”

The design and acquisition funding was derived from Grant Anticipation Revenue Vehicle, also known as GARVEE bonding. GARVEE bonds can used for major projects receiving federal funding.

“There is no identified construction funds yet and that’s what we would go to the Legislature for,” said ITD’s Panhandle spokeswoman, Barbara Babic. “By the end of the year we want to have design packages ready to go so that we have identified projects to be funded.”

The 31-mile corridor project is meant to improve traffic flow and safety by constructing a four-lane divided highway with interchange ramps. Local access in the corridor would be maintained via frontage roads.

The freeway mostly follows the existing alignment of U.S. 95.

The Granite/Careywood alignment involves the construction of interchanges just north of Trails End Road and near Bayview Road. There would be frontage roads on either side of the freeway and 50-foot-wide medians.

In Cocolalla, there would be an interchange built at the south end of Cocolalla Loop and frontage roads on the east and west sides of the freeway. Moving north, the freeway would shift east of the current alignment at the north end of Cocolalla Lake and an interchange would be constructed at the north end of the loop road. The frontage road would extend north to connect with Dufort Road, where there would be an interchange.

Farther north in Sagle, an interchange would be built at the north end of Gun Club Road and Monarch Road. East and west frontage roads and a 22-foot-wide medians are also proposed.

Altogether, the corridor project is expected to cost between $150-$160 million, Babic said, emphasizing that those figures are “very preliminary” because the project is in mid-design.

Improvements to U.S. 95 between Sagle and Sandpoint are part of the Sandpoint North/South project, which encompasses the Sand Creek Byway. It remains unclear, however, when those improvements will be constructed.

• The corridor project’s final EIS is posted on ITD’s website (http://itd.idaho.gov).