Sealcoating project set to start

SANDPOINT — U.S. Highway 95 from Samuels to Bonners Ferry is slated to get seal-coated this month.

The Idaho Transportation Department announced on Monday that approximately 19 miles of the federal highway will be treated with sealcoating starting July 19. The highway will be reduced to a single lane while the sealcoating is applied. Motorists will be guided through the work zone by pilot vehicles and should expected short delays while the sealcoating is applied.

Motorists are further urged to slow their roll in the work zone as chips placed during the sealcoating process have the potential to cause windshield damage.

Also known as a pavement sealing, sealcoating involves applying a protective coating to asphalt-based pavements to guard against the elements, oils and the degradation from ultraviolet exposure.

“Sealcoating is a roadway surface treatment best applied during the hot and dry months of summer when chips of aggregate will properly adhere to an oil layer applied to the highway,” ITD said in a statement announcing the work.

The Samuels-to-Tamarack Lane sealcoating is scheduled to be completed by early August.

U.S. Highway 95 between Fawn Lane and Idaho Highway 1 will also be shellacked with sealcoating starting on July 18. Other routes to be seal-coated this month include Idaho Highway 54 from the Goodhope Road traffic circle through Farragut State Park and Idaho highways 3 and 58.

Travelers can also expect reduced speeds and shoulder work in Elmira, where turn bays and lighting are being installed. Interstate Concrete & Asphalt was awarded the $605,000 contract. Construction began in June and anticipated to be complete in August.

ITD contractors are also resurfacing approximately 2 miles of U.S. 95 from Dufort to Gun Club roads, work which will be done between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. A pilot rig will facilitate alternating one-way traffic, which will result speed reductions at night in addition to the daytime, according to ITD. However, during the day, both lanes of the highway will remain open.

A $15 million project to improve safety and mobility on U.S. 95 at Granite Hill remains in the early design stage. The state intends to fund the project with a bond through the Grant Anticipation Revenue Vehicle program.

The project involves realigning 1 1/2 miles of the high two to lanes in each direction. Frontage roads would be added on both sides of the highway. The Trails End Road intersection would be improved by realigning the new frontage road connections to be perpendicular to the highway.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.