ITD outlines I-90 widening, US-95 interchange plans; construction to start this summer, residents press for noise mitigation

The Idaho Transportation Department told the Coeur d'Alene City Council on Feb. 18 that construction to widen I-90 from State Highway 41 to U.S. 95 is set to begin this summer and will take about four years to complete, and that the US-95 interchange near Appleway is being advanced in preliminary design with a public open house planned March 5.

Erica Bowen, ITD manager for the I-90 projects, said design is complete for the five-mile widening and that the department will advertise for construction next month. “Once construction is complete, you'll have four lanes in both directions,” Bowen said, adding the project includes new bridges at Hutter Road, Atlas Road and Prairie Trail Road, ramp improvements and realignment work near the Centennial Trail. She said the project does not require additional right-of-way purchases.

Bowen said construction will require both daytime and evening work; two lanes of traffic will be maintained during daytime hours, the project will include short-term ramp closures and occasional detours for girder placement at bridges, and Idaho State Police will increase work-zone patrols. ITD will also install a six-foot chain-link fence along five miles of the Centennial Trail as a safety measure.

Joseph Sprague, manager for the US-95 interchange project, said his team is recommending a single-point urban interchange (SPUI) with a US-95 bridge over Appleway and an underpass for Appleway. He described the existing Appleway/US-95 area as “a real mess” with closely spaced intersections and long backups; the SPUI and bridge aim to handle future traffic volumes and reduce crashes. Sprague said the project will widen I-90 further east and add auxiliary lanes on I-90 and US-95.

Sprague invited the public to an open house March 5 at the Best Western Coeur d'Alene Inn and said an online survey will be open March 5–19. Bowen and Sprague said noise and visual impacts will be reanalyzed for the interchange because the preferred grade-separated alignment changes the noise model.

Several residents at the meeting raised concerns about traffic noise, dust and tree loss from the I-90 widening. Elizabeth Middlewood and Kelly Stoller, who represent a 39-home community near the Centennial Trail, said they had sought a noise analysis from ITD and were told one had already been done and they did not qualify for noise mitigation funding. Stoller said she sweeps a layer of dirt from her home each morning and asked whether the city could help fund tree plantings or a noise wall. Bowen said the department followed Federal Highway Administration guidance and that only segments near Ninth to Fifteenth streets were deemed reasonable and feasible for noise walls in the current analysis; she said no walls are part of the current widening project.

Council members and staff discussed whether the city could assist with landscaping. Councilmember Gookin suggested the city’s street-tree fund might help pay for arborvitae or other plantings if water access and agreements with adjacent property owners could be arranged. Greenwood said such plantings would likely require coordination on water and property-owner permission.

ITD said construction activity would include realignment of the Centennial Trail in places, that trail detours and short gravel surfaces are possible during construction, and that right-in/right-out access patterns on some local streets like Haycraft and Cherry may change to manage safety and traffic flow.