For the week of March 12 - 18, 2003

Highway 75 bridges
to be replaced

By GREGORY FOLEY
Express Staff Writer

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Idaho Transportation Department officials are planning to reconstruct two bridges on Highway 75 north of Ketchum.

Devin Rigby, ITD district engineer, said the department is planning to replace this summer the support structure and surface deck of the North Fork Bridge on Highway 75 near the Sawtooth National Recreation Area Visitor Center.

Rigby said the project would take approximately one month, and is estimated to cost approximately $500,000. The highway will not be closed for the project, but at times traffic may be restricted to one lane, he noted.

ITD is also planning to replace the structure and deck of the bridge at Chocolate Gulch, Rigby said. He explained that the Chocolate Gulch project—which is slated to take place in the summer of 2004—will include adding an extra traffic lane to the span.

Rigby said ITD decided to replace the bridges when department officials discovered that previous contractors did not build them exactly according to the plans. "We found the bridges are adequate, but need to be replaced for the long term," Rigby said.

Rigby added that ITD also plans this summer to repair sections of the highway road surface in some parts of the Wood River Valley. He said the "routine maintenance" work will primarily involve filling in potholes, but might also include replacing some sections of road with a new asphalt surface.

 

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