Lightning Creek Road work set
SANDPOINT — Repair work is poised to begin on flood-damaged roads in the Sandpoint and Bonners Ferry ranger districts, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
Rain-on-snow events in 2015 wreaked havoc on Lightning Creek Road near Clark Fork and Boulder Creek Road in Boundary County. Flooding took out four large concrete box culverts, in addition to causing washouts, destroying a bridge across Rattle Creek and damaging the Wellington Bridge over Lightning Creek.
The damages prompted the Forest Service to temporarily close sections of Lightning Creek Road, also known as Road No. 419, and Boulder Creek Road, also known as Road No. 314 for public safety reasons.
Repair work on the two forest routes is slated to begin on Monday. Noble Excavating Inc. is mobilizing heavy equipment and installing traffic controls in advance of the work, the Forest Service said in a news release. The road closures will remain in effect until the repairs are completed, which are slated to be done before the onset of the winter season.
Four box culverts are scheduled to be installed on Lightning Creek Road starting on Monday. Reconstruction of the west abutment of the Wellington Bridge and work on the Rattle Creek Bridge is scheduled to get underway in mid July.
Rock buttressing and repairs to Lightning Creek Road are set for late July, according to the Federal Highway Administration. Repairs to Boulder Creek are scheduled to be complete by September or October.
The Forest Service received emergency relief for Federally Owned Roads Program funding from the Western Federal Lands Highway Division following the flood events. During the spring and summer of 2016, WFLHD completed damage survey reports. The National Environmental Policy Act review process was completed in February, 2018. The WFLHD awarded the contract to repair the flood damage in May 2018, according to the Forest Service.
For more information, please contact the Sandpoint Ranger District at 208-263-5111.
Project information can also be found at https://flh.fhwa.dot.gov/projects/id/panhandle/