Bonners Ferry mulls possible truck route

BONNERS FERRY —  Bonners Ferry and Boundary County officials will be considering a bypass truck route through Bonners Ferry, said assistant city administrator David Sims.

“This is really in its conceptual stage,” said Sims. “We would like to have a meeting with ITD about the options; it could be 25 to 40 years before any type of construction starts.”

The highway through Bonners Ferry is limited in size. One option is to make it a five-lane highway or to bypass it all together or both depending on growth,” said Sims.

The concern is handling the future growth of Bonners Ferry and keeping drivers and citizens safe.

Sims said the cities of Bonners Ferry and Moyie Springs, plus the Boundary County commissioners, hope to plan a group meeting this month to discuss the topic.

They are also interested in ITD attending that meeting which will be a public meeting.

Bonners Ferry City Administrator Stephen Boorman said it is just a look into a crystal ball to see which way the city wants to go and at this point no route is even suggested as it is in the talk stages.

“We would like the public to provide the ins and outs of how we want our community to look going forward into the next generation,” said Boorman.

Sims said that city officials hope it happens in May and the city will keep the public notified of the date, place and time.