Path beneath long bridge to reopen today
The path underneath the south end of the Long Bridge will reopen late Friday after crews finish installing a railing and the bench following a completion of paving Thursday.
(Photo courtesy IDAHO TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT)
Construction has been completed on the pedestrian/biking path beneath the Long Bridge.
The path is scheduled to reopen late Friday as crews finish installing railing and a bench, Idaho Transportation Department public information officer Megan Jahns said.
The path, which has been closed since mid-May, was closed to allow crews to repair a retaining wall that was damaged by waves in 2020. The wall had begun to collapse and needed to be essentially rebuilt, ITD officials said.
That rebuild included digging down to add additional rock at the bottom of the retaining wall to improve drainage, Jahns told the Bee in May, before adding an additional layer to widen and strengthen the base.
Workers are scheduled to return later this summer to apply a protective coating to guardrails on the vehicular bridge and repaint the railing for the pedestrian path.
There will also be energy-efficient navigation lights that require less maintenance added beneath the bridge to replace older lamps.
Repairs to the vehicle and pedestrian bridges on U.S. 95 are meant to extend the service life of the spans. And while the $9.7 million project is scheduled to last two years, ITD officials said previously that the contractor — McMillen Jacobs Associates — is hoping to complete the work in one.
Work on the vehicle bridge, built in 1981, is expected to begin in early August. Most of the work will be done on weekdays and at night and limited to one lane at a time.