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Kootenai County declares disaster emergency for Eastside Highway District after culvert failure
Summary
Kootenai County commissioners approved a disaster emergency declaration supporting Eastside Highway District after a culvert failure on River Road; estimated repair costs were cited at $300,000–$500,000 and the state issued a related disaster declaration.
Kootenai County commissioners on March 18 approved a disaster emergency declaration to support the Eastside Highway District after a culvert failure on River Road that officials said occurred March 15, 2025.
Tiffany Westbrook, director of the county Office of Emergency Management, said the county moved to back the highway district after a coordinated call with the Idaho Office of Emergency Management and the district. "They are going to face costs between $300,000 to $500,000 to fix this," Westbrook said, noting the county's resolution is intended to help leverage support for the needed repairs. The Idaho Office of Emergency Management subsequently entered a state disaster declaration related to the incident.
The declaration follows emergency work by the Eastside Highway District to prevent further damage. Ben Weymouth, director with Eastside Highway District, told commissioners the district closed the road after noticing the problem and began contracting emergency repairs the following week. "We became aware of a problem Sunday night and closed the road. We did our emergency declaration formally on Tuesday, and the contractor started work on Wednesday," Weymouth said. He added crews began installing new culverts and he hoped the work would be "back up out of the ground early next week," before river flows rise.
Commissioners voted unanimously to adopt the resolution, recorded in the meeting as resolution 20 20 five-thirty 1; the board recorded aye votes from Commissioner Eberlein, Commissioner Duncan and Chair Metari.
County staff described the sequence of events to the board: the Eastside Highway District reported a flooding issue that led to the culvert failure; OEM coordinated with the Idaho Office of Emergency Management and the district; emergency repairs were underway at the time of the meeting. The resolution authorizes the county to declare an emergency in support of the Eastside Highway District and to document extraordinary costs incurred in response to the incident.
Officials did not provide a finalized overall cost or schedule for full road reopening at the time of the meeting. Weymouth said the district would continue emergency mitigation and repair work and appreciated the county's support. The board took no additional direction beyond approving the disaster declaration.
