Byway opening has makings of a 'remember when' day

Look around.

Hell hasn’t frozen over.

Pigs haven’t taken to flight and the Mariners haven’t won the World Series.

Today has all of the makings of being a local “do you remember when?” day, akin to when presidents are elected — or assissinated — men land on the moon or when your kids took their first steps.

Today is the day the $100 million Sand Creek Byway opens.

If all goes according to plan, traffic should be flowing smoothly across the 1.9-mile stretch of highway by 10 a.m.

In addition, the much-anticipated pedestrian path will open this morning.

Already Bonner County Daily Bee staffers are scrambling to fill the news void that will be left when the pro and anti byway discussions, lawsuits and letters to the editor dry up. We might be forced to open up more space to debate topics we can more easily agree on — like politics and religion.

Actually the byway is old news.

The Sandpoint News-Bulletin’s July 30, 1953, edition ran an aerial photo of Sand-point — taken from the north — that showed Sand-point and the Long Bridge and what looked like a line drawn from the north end of the Long Bridge to an area that connected to Highway 95 just north of Sand-point.

The story said construction of the $50,000 project would be put out to bid “this fall.” There have been a lot of “this fall”s between then and now but the fact is, here we are.

What an amazing project. Not only did the construction of the Sand Creek Byway provide an economic boost here right when we needed it, the big trucks and cranes provided most of us with flashbacks to our old erector sets.

Today marks a change for all of us who call this area home. Most of us are looking forward to being able to actually walk, bike or shop along the streets in “pedestrian friendly” Sandpoint without worrying about a Canadian truck hauling pigs running us over.

Sandpoint and Ponderay’s best days are still ahead and the byway is an integral part of that.

All a person has to do is look at downtown Sandpoint to see all of the changes in place because of the byway.

The byway will make transportation so much easier for commuters who just want to get to the other side of Sandpoint.

The city is already making ambitious plans to reclaim the downtown streets and make America’s Prettiest Small Town even nicer.

Idaho’s single largest highway project solves the problem of removing commercial trucks and other vehicles from a series of dangerous turns in the heart of downtown Sandpoint.

The new pedestrian path, the entrance into the Cedar Street Bridge, the blue lights under the Long Bridge coming into Sandpoint will all soon be added to the list of what makes this area special and unique.

Here’s to a huge, problem-solving project coming in before its deadline and under budget.

Congratulations to everyone who made this happen and here’s to a future full of possibilities.

And look, it is completed before “this fall.”

Drive safely!

David Keyes is publisher of the Daily Bee.