First bypass girders to be set next week

PONDERAY — The first set of girders for the U.S. Highway 95 bypass are scheduled to be set next week.

The work is forcing overnight closures of the Highway 200 from north of the U.S. 95 intersection to Kootenai Cutoff Road.

The overnight closures will be from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m., Monday through Friday. The closure will also be in effect the following Saturday, from 7 p.m. to 12 a.m.

Traffic during the closure periods will be detoured to Kootenai Cutoff Road, according to the Idaho Transportation Department.

Residential areas and businesses within the closure area will still be accessible after hours via Kootenai Cutoff.

The girders are for the Sand Creek Byway’s future U.S. 95 overpass just north of the Y intersection.

“Setting the first girders is a milestone,” said Snaebjorn “Snowbear” Jonasson, project manager for lead contractor Parsons.

The girders are being shipped by train from Grand Junction, Colo., to Pocatello, where they will be put on trucks bound for Sandpoint.

“It’s going to be a straightforward operation,” Jonasson said.

Five slightly arched girder structures will span Highway 200 to form the new overpass. Each of the five structures is comprised of two 110-foot segments of girder and an 80-foot drop-in girder that will be used to join the longer lengths.

The next slug of girder work is planned for late June, when girders across Bridge Street will be set. Girders for the mainline span north of the Long Bridge and the southbound off-ramp will eventually follow, said Jonasson.