Byway receives another award

SANDPOINT — The Sand Creek Byway has earned yet another accolade.

The U.S. Highway 95 realignment project has been named best project in the highway/bridges category by the Engineering News-Record Mountain States.

Engineering News-Record is a weekly construction industry trade publication that provides news, analysis, data and opinion on projects worldwide.

“We are extremely proud of the Sand Creek Byway project,” said Todd Wager, president of Parsons Group, the general contractor on the project. “It represents the talent and hard work of everyone at Parsons, and we’re especially honored that this has been chose to receive another prestigious award.”

The ENR honor comes on the heels of news that the byway is a top-10 finalist for America’s Transportation Award, a contest put on by the American Association of State Highway & Transportation Officials and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The project is in the running for a $10,000 people’s choice award and a $10,000 grand prize.

If the project wins either award, the proceeds will be donated to North Idaho Bikeways, a nonprofit that links the Greater Sandpoint area with a network of bicycle and pedestrian trails.

Voting is open through Oct. 2. People can cast up to 10 votes a day by going to http://americastransportationawards.org. The winner of the contest is expected to be announced on Oct. 20 at the annual AASHTO meeting in Denver.

The bypass project, which has been debated for a half a century, was constructed adjacent to an active rail line, a historic railway depot, operating commercial buildings, Sand Creek and Lake Pend Oreille.

The project included shoreline extensions that required dredging and sheet pile walls; four steel girder bridges; a pedestrian bridge; 35 mechanically-stabilized totaling 375,000 square feet, pedestrian/bike paths, two cut-and-cover pedestrian tunnels; and a railroad embankment for future rail expansion.

As part of the $100 million-plus contract, Parsons undertook significant efforts to protect the environment surrounding the byway. Because the project area included a major wintering site for bald eagles, winter perch trees were located and marked in the field. Trees and drip lines were preserved, protective fencing was installed and the locations were actively monitored.

Parsons also ensured safe fish passage through planning and through proper placement of silt curtains and water-filled bladders within the creek so threatened bull trout could use Sand Creek as a migration corridor.