Sandpoint staff outline short-term repairs for Great Northern Road and plans for Boyer Avenue sidewalk

Holly Ellis, Sandpoint public works director, briefed the Urban Renewal Agency on April 1 about observed failures on Great Northern Road and conceptual alternatives that would avoid previously planned property acquisitions.

Ellis said crews have observed clay boils and pavement failure along Great Northern Road and that staff plan temporary patchwork this summer while pursuing a revised long-term approach. “We want to cut the property acquisition out. That was about $4,000,000 that was slated just to acquire property,” Ellis said, describing staff intent to use existing right-of-way and focus on stormwater improvements and road rehabilitation.

Why it matters: Great Northern is a connector for neighborhoods and utilities; the previously designed project relied heavily on property acquisition that staff now propose to avoid to reduce cost and speed implementation.

Ellis also described a separate sidewalk concept on Boyer Avenue near Baldy to improve pedestrian connectivity for Panhandle Special Needs, a local nonprofit with programs that generate pedestrian traffic. The city is looking to provide sidewalk from the tracks north to Baldy to accommodate increased pedestrian crossings as the nonprofit moves activity to the west side of Boyer.

Both efforts are at a conceptual or assessment stage; staff said more analysis, design and outreach will follow and did not bring a formal recommendation or funding request to the April 1 meeting.

Ending: Ellis said staff will assess options that limit acquisitions and stretch existing job orders so the city can implement longer-lasting fixes with lower cost and shorter schedules.