“During those short-duration closures, the temporary signals will turn red,” Zarate said. Idaho Transportation Department Highway Info: 511 Info | Full-Feature Version ... Road Reports. BOISE, Idaho — US Highway 95 in north-central Idaho is back open again to travelers. “Even with this open, getting through the area could take up to three hours.”. Forecast Weather: Patchy Fog. US 95 Whole Road: 2 reports: Oregon to Payette No reports: Payette to New Meadows No reports: New Meadows to Lewiston No reports: ... Coeur d'Alene to Canada: 2 reports: Reports on US 95 Closure: Restriction: Crash: Warning: Roadwork: Info: Around 9 a.m. Friday, the slope above milepost 188 crashed onto the highway, leaving a debris field approximately 120 feet long and 40 feet deep at the base. “A spotter and a surveyor will watch the hillside and be ready to have flaggers close the highway in the unlikely event it becomes unstable.”. This blast is the first of two planned to remove material from the slope. No significant movement has been detected since late last week, allowing scalers to finish dislodging loose material on the rock face this week. Repairs are expected to take until mid-November to complete. The second blast has not yet been scheduled. Road Conditions. RELATED: Crashes, icy conditions close I-84 in eastern Oregon. “Today rock scalers will keep dislodging any loose material.”. Cleanup efforts on the detour around the base of the slide are expected to take up to one week, after which traffic will be shifted back on to US-95. “We plan to proactively address it now while we have the right equipment and people in the area.”. Parcel Data. The slope and area around the slide is considered extremely hazardous. “Drivers may notice that the highway had to be shifted to provide room for a larger ditch,” Zarate said. Various methods will be required to break the massive boulders into pieces and remove them with heavy equipment. charges bombmaker in 1988 Pan Am explosion, A look at powerful social justice moments this year, Crashes, icy conditions close I-84 in eastern Oregon. “Now that repairs to the US-95 slide are nearly over and we no longer need an alternate route, we need to take some of the weight off the slide area on Old Pollock Road by removing most of what we added, as well as address distressed pavement.”. “When survey results and on-slope evaluations prove that the slide is stable, we will look to open the highway for short periods of time,” Hopkins said. “Even with those protective measures in place, the biggest threat to drivers’ safety will be the stability of the slope above them,” Hoff said. “In the meantime, we are evaluating the condition of Old Pollock Road to see how we may be able to help the county with a locals-only detour.”. The Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) said in a news release the incident happened around 9 a.m. on U.S. Route 95 at milepost 188, between the towns of Pollock and Riggins. Improvements to Old Pollock Road will be completed later today, serving as another one-lane gravel option for local commuters only but not commercial traffic. Scaling will continue throughout the week but minimal traffic impacts are anticipated over the holiday weekend. And although US 95 is open again, state police are cautioning drivers that winter conditions still exist. Between the start of US 95 and ID 55 (6 to 30 miles south of the Homedale area). They had been working on a temporary road around the slide as well as building a rock berm and placing container boxes to shield traffic once allowed to pass through. Given variable weather conditions expected over the next week, crews will work when they can. Future conditions for travel are unknown at this time. To preserve the route for future use as a detour, Old Pollock Road will continue to be posted for local traffic only. “We are still determining what the highway will look like when it reopens, but drivers should be prepared for flaggers and reduced lanes and hours.”. “However, without enough data and uncertainty about an apparent gap at the top of the hillside, we are concerned it might be active still.”. “Slides are unpredictable, and this one keeps proving that,” Hopkins said. “We will alternate between the two routes to accommodate traffic, with a complete closure of both only planned for the day we blast.”. The closure starts at New Meadows to five miles south of the Riggins area. Repairs are expected to be complete by Thanksgiving. A helicopter will be used to hold the netting above the slope as crews attach it to bolts that have already been embedded in the slope. Be sure to travel safely and allow extra time to reach your destination. “This slide has proven to be a complicated issue, and we would like to thank everyone for their patience as we work to resolve it in a safe manner,” Hopkins said. “Our crews have been, and will continue, to work as quickly as possible to safely restore the highway and driving conditions back to normal.”. Between Ironwood Drive (Coeur d'Alene) and Lancaster Road (Hayden). In addition to clearing the roadway, crews finished rebuilding protective berms to shield traffic from any additional rock fall. Watch a video of the various stages of repairs. The temporary road around the base of the slide has been open for daytime travel since July 27. Starting tonight, the Idaho Transportation Department will open US-95 at the slide area south of Riggins for nighttime travel. ID-21 from Grandjean to Banner Summit to close tonight due to avalanche risk, ITD and AGC announce Excellence in Construction Partnering Award winners, Operation Safe Holiday: don’t drive impaired, Idaho Ready: What you need to know about the chain up law, Four lanes of Chinden Boulevard, from Locust Grove to Eagle Road, will open by Friday. “The very nature of slides is unpredictable,” Operations Engineer Jared Hopkins said. Notifications can be turned off anytime in the browser settings. An estimated 14,000 cubic yards will be removed by dynamite in one blast, during which there will be no access through the area on the detour around the base of the slide or on Old Pollock Road. The closure starts at milepost 161 to milepost 188, New Meadows to five miles south of the Riggins area. Drivers should pay attention to digital signs in the area for the exact times, as the schedule could vary. Continued rockfall throughout the day kept maintenance crews from cleaning up the slide. Next steps for slope stabilization include reinforcing the remaining slope with bolts and wire fencing. The closure starts at milepost 161 to milepost 188, New Meadows to five miles south of … The route could reopen as early as 5 p.m. PT / 6 p.m. MT, but drivers should check 511.idaho.gov for updates as the deadline approaches. After the blast, traffic will be allowed to travel through the area on the US-95 temporary road around the base of the slide or Old Pollock Road. An update will be sent later this week with the timing of the blast on Friday evening. How to see the 'Christmas star' from the Treasure Valley Monday night, North Pole and Santa, Idaho: The 208 searches for holiday-related spots across the Gem State, The winter solstice, and how you can watch Monday's 'great conjunction', Boise State football: Spartans a team of destiny, Boise State football: Just recover one fumble, Justice Dept. Watch the blast from across the river and south of slide. 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