Wednesday, June 30, 2004

Bellevue officials address logging traffic concerns

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By MEGAN THOMAS
Express Staff Writer

Since first acknowledging the impact of a logging operation east of Bellevue at the June 10 Bellevue City Council meeting, city officials have been working to minimize any potential negative effects of the project.

Officials have consulted with logging contractors, the Bureau of Land Management and the Idaho Transportation Department to determine ways to reduce the impact of logging trucks on Bellevue citizens and streets. Mountain West Helicopter has been contracted by the BLM to clear 663 acres of federal land in Martin Canyon, east of Bellevue.

"They have spent a lot of time working in small towns, and they understand the impacts," Bellevue Marshal Randy Tremble said of the logging company.

The logging will affect the city of Bellevue as trucks travel from Muldoon Canyon Road through city streets to Highway 75.

Helicopter logging has already begun. Tremble anticipates the first trucks will transport logs through Bellevue soon after the Fourth of July.

According to Tremble, the company proposed for its drivers a 15 miles per hour speed limit through the city. The city speed limit has long been 20 miles per hour. The company asked the city to enforce slower speeds on its drivers to reduce the danger to citizens and damage to city streets.

"As long as they are creeping through, there won’t be a whole lot of damage," Tremble said.

The lower truck speed limit will help to limit impact, but the city also was forced to decide how best to handle the trucks given the current reconstruction of Bellevue’s Main Street, which is slated through August, Tremble said.

He explained that "because of new pavement concerns" the city established two routes through town.

The first route will take trucks from Muldoon Canyon Road through Bellevue on Pine Street, taking a left onto Highway 75. The other designated route will take trucks from Muldoon Canyon Road to 8th Street, then to Chestnut Street, before turning onto the highway.

The two routes were established because new pavement takes time to set up before it can handle the logging loads.

Tremble said the other major impact on the streets arises when the trucks turn sharply onto Main Street. "They can’t make hard, sharp turns," because the pavement is destroyed in the process, he said.

Flaggers will be in place on Main Street at both the Pine and Chestnut Street intersections to coordinate wide berth turns onto Main Street. The city is working closely with the Idaho Transportation Department to coordinate the effort.

The city has also proposed a load limit ordinance, which would cap loads at 20 tons. Tremble said that city roads are only built to handle 20 tons.

He added that a previously proposed logging truck convoy would be impossible due to the uncertainty of the helicopters. "With the helicopters it’s hit or miss," because they are often called to fight forest fires. When the helicopters are away the trucks cannot be stacked and loaded.

The city was also exploring changes to controlled intersections, but they will remain as they are.

"We’ve done everything we can do at this point," Tremble said.

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