Curve plan taking shape

SANDPOINT — The city is preparing to complete another step in the road to getting the U.S.-2 Curve realignment on the map.

At this month’s City Council meeting, members will vote to approve a memorandum of understanding with Idaho Transportation Department. The memorandum outlines both ITD and the city’s responsibilities over the U.S. 2 extension that will realign the highway between Lake and Cedar streets.

At the Public Works Committee meeting last Wednesday, city attorney Scot Campbell told members that he and City Engineer Kody Van Dyk worked together with ITD in drafting the document.

“This project is huge,” Campbell said. “Everything we do now is going to be immensely important to what Sandpoint looks like in the future.”  

Under the details of the memorandum, ITD will be responsible for pursuing funding for the design and construction of the Curve, perform traffic signal analysis, enter into a road closure and maintenance agreement with the city, allow the city to maintain its utility maintenance during construction and advertise and award the labor contract. In addition, the department will furnish and install the appropriate signs, signals, street lighting and streetscape installations like curbs, gutters, walls, crosswalks or striping. Finally, it will agree to relinquish downtown streets and provide materials for their conversion into two-way roads.

As for Sandpoint’s side of the bargain, its officials will also comply with a road closure and maintenance agreement. The city will pay for any traffic light utility fees and landscaping necessary along the Curve. Upon accepting control of downtown streets, Sandpoint government will be responsible for their maintenance and utility costs. Finally the city will cover the costs of the engineering design, intersection reconstruction, and roadway improvements necessary for the downtown streets.

However, the memorandum is far from a binding agreement. For one thing, it has not yet been approved by either the ITD board or the City Council. For another, either party can back out of the memorandum at any point, and it by no means guarantees that ITD will approve or fund the project. More than anything, the document is a useful tool to ascertain that city and ITD staff are on the same page.

“The important thing is that this is moving forward,” Campbell said.