Friday, November 15, 2013

Asphalt slabs to remain for winter

Local officials criticize condition of highway construction zone


By TERRY SMITH
Express Staff Writer

    A decision by the Idaho Transportation Department to not remove large chunks of asphalt and other debris for the winter from a state Highway 75 construction zone south of Ketchum has been met with criticism by local officials.
    ITD announced in a news release Wednesday that the winter traffic plan for a 3.75-mile construction zone is “now under way and will remain largely unchanged throughout the winter.”
    “Questions have been raised by members of the public about the asphalt debris along the east side of the highway south of Hospital Drive,” the news release states. “ITD’s resident engineer determined it was safe for the asphalt debris to be stored at this location until its removal next year. The contractor has shut down operations and removed its equipment from the area.”
    Blaine County Commission Chairman Larry Schoen called the decision to leave the debris unacceptable and Mountain Rides Transportation Authority Operations Manager Jim Finch termed the state of the highway as “unsafe.”
    The construction zone extends from Timber Way north of East Fork Road to the bridge over the Big Wood River near St. Luke’s Wood River hospital. The project, which when finished will widen the road to two lanes in each direction, was started in May by Idaho Sand and Gravel Co. under contract with ITD. The work was not finished this year and will be resumed next spring.
    Traffic is now being diverted mostly onto a newly constructed roadway while the old roadway to the east has been partially ripped up, resulting in the large asphalt slabs and other debris that remain east of the new roadway.
    “Is the material recycled for future use on this project or elsewhere, or is it merely removed?” Schoen wrote in an email to ITD. “If the latter, I do not believe it is acceptable to anyone up here that the contractor did not plan for debris removal and pulled out for the winter.
    “This decision should be reversed and the debris removed as soon as possible,” Schoen continued. “Frankly, I am surprised your agency would find this appropriate on state Highway 75 leading into Ketchum, Sun Valley and the Sawtooths.”
Finch, who manages the Mountain Rides bus fleet, complained in an email to ITD that markers along the new roadway and other conditions will inhibit snow removal this winter. He further complained that the roadway is too narrow in some areas.
“The bottom line, in my opinion, is the project was left in a condition that is unsafe and essentially a public safety issue that falls squarely on ITD,” Finch wrote. “We would have been better off without a widening project.”




About Comments

Comments with content that seeks to incite or inflame may be removed.

Comments that are in ALL CAPS may be removed.

Comments that are off-topic or that include profanity or personal attacks, libelous or other inappropriate material may be removed from the site. Entries that are unsigned or contain signatures by someone other than the actual author may be removed. We will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or any other policies governing this site. Use of this system denotes full acceptance of these conditions. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.

The comments below are from the readers of mtexpress.com and in no way represent the views of Express Publishing, Inc.

You may flag individual comments. You may also report an inappropriate or offensive comment by clicking here.

Flagging Comments: Flagging a comment tells a site administrator that a comment is inappropriate. You can find the flag option by pointing the mouse over the comment and clicking the 'Flag' link.

Flagging a comment is only counted once per person, and you won't need to do it multiple times.

Proper Flagging Guidelines: Every site has a different commenting policy - be sure to review the policy for this site before flagging comments. In general these types of comments should be flagged:

  • Spam
  • Ones violating this site's commenting policy
  • Clearly unrelated
  • Personal attacks on others
Comments should not be flagged for:
  • Disagreeing with the content
  • Being in a dispute with the commenter

Popular Comment Threads



 Local Weather 
Search archives:


Copyright © 2024 Express Publishing Inc.   Terms of Use   Privacy Policy
All Rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Express Publishing Inc. is prohibited. 

The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.