Bridge, roundabout open for traffic today
(Photo courtesy DAVID SUHR/EVANS & ASSOCIATES) The Schwetizer Cutoff roundabout, scheduled to open by noon today, is bathed in lights late Tuesday evening after crews worked to complete the project’s finishing touches. Sandpoint officials announced the news of the project’s opening via social media Tuesday afternoon.
(Photo courtesy DAVID SUHR/EVANS & ASSOCIATES) This Nov. 14 photo shows the layout of the new roundabout and bridge on Schweitzer Cutoff Road, which is scheduled to open before noon today.
SANDPOINT — Some good news for anyone heading up to Schweitzer Mountain this weekend — they will be able to take Schweitzer Cutoff Road.
City officials announced on social media Tuesday that the new bridge and roundabout will be both be open before noon today, just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday.
"On behalf of the city, we would like to thank the contractors on this project, our partners LHTAC and the city of Ponderay, as well as our residents and visitors who have been inconvenienced by the associated detours," said city Administrator Jennifer Stapleton in a statement. "This was an extremely important project for both of our cities and while combining the roundabout construction with the bridge created some complications, in the long run, it lessened the inconveniences to our residents that would have occurred with two different construction seasons."
Construction began in May and city officials initially hoped to see traffic moving through the roundabout by Labor Day. The bridge was originally scheduled to open by late October.
Delays on the project earlier this year included some utility conflicts — within that corridor runs power, new fiber line, a water line, storm water lines and telecommunication lines. Crews moved power from one side of the road to the other, and because the area is also in the runway protection zone for the Sandpoint Airport, it required review and approval through the Federal Aviation Administration for new pole locations.
The Schweitzer Cutoff bridge replacement is a joint project between the cities of Ponderay and Sandpoint. The majority of the bridge project is funded through federal dollars, which it qualified for due to an extremely low sufficiency rating. The cities are responsible for a 15-percent match, or 7.5 percent each.
The roundabout is Sandpoint's addition to the project and is funded by the city.
The roundabout is not quite finished as the Sandpoint Arts Commission budgeted $113,500 for artwork, funded by the Sandpoint Urban Renewal Agency.
"The city’s Art Commission is putting out a call for artists for a future art display within the roundabout that will make this a beautiful gateway to our City," Stapleton said in the statement.
The commission is utilizing CaFE, a call for entry website that allows project administrators to streamline the application and review process for submissions by interested artists. The CaFE fee is $500, the three finalists will receive a design fee of $1,000 each, the final artist will have a $90,000 budget and landscaping and infrastructure is budgeted at $20,000.
The deadline for artist submissions through CAFe is Dec. 31. Three finalists will be chosen by Feb. 5, 2018, and the final artist will be announced May 1. Installation of the art is scheduled for completion by June 2019.
Mary Malone can be reached by email at mmalone@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow her on Twitter @MaryDailyBee.