ITD seeks comment on Rathdrum project

January 16, 2018

The Idaho Transportation Department invites the public to a hearing about the expansion of Idaho Highway 41 from Prairie Avenue to Boekel Road in Kootenai County from 4 to 7 p.m.  Thursday, January 25, at the Coeur d’Alene office at W600 Prairie Avenue. The $25-million project from Prairie Avenue to Boekel Road is part of a larger project to safely accommodate the projected growth of the region by transforming ID-41 into a divided four-lane highway from Post Falls to Rathdrum. “The improved highway will serve as a safer and more efficient north-south route to I-90,” project manager John Vaudreuil said. “Expanding ID-41 will enhance safety, improve mobility and promote economic development in the area.” The public hearing will focus solely on the proposed changes, which are also featured on the project website. Improvements for this four-mile section of the highway will take two years to build, with construction beginning in 2020. Besides expanding the highway to four lanes separated by a grassy median, the project will replace the signal at Hayden Avenue and add signals and turn lanes at Lancaster Road and Nagel Lane, Vaudreuil said. Other features of the project include safety improvements near railroads and the possible addition of pedestrian facilities in the corridor. To enhance safety at the railroad crossing between Hayden Avenue and Wyoming Avenue, ITD will construct a grade separation so that the highway will pass over, rather than intersect, the crossing to limit opportunities for collisions. ITD is also working with the Union Pacific Railroad to remove the crossing between Prairie Avenue and Hayden Avenue, Vaudreuil said. ITD is evaluating the feasibility of installing a pedestrian underpass near Nagel Lane. The underpass would facilitate foot traffic across the highway, Vaudreuil said. Should the county or nearby cities of Post Falls or Rathdrum agree to maintain it, ITD would construct a multi-use pathway along the east side of the highway to connect the two cities. Those who cannot attend the public hearing may visit the project website to learn more and to comment. Comments will be collected from January 25 to February 8. ITD engineers strive to incorporate feedback from meetings and from online comments into the design of the project, as they have done in the past. Vaudreuil said previous comments from public meetings and contact with property owners adjacent to the project suggested a preference for an expanded, median-divided highway and wide signalized intersections, rather than roundabouts, to accommodate U-turns. “Public comment is critical to the project's design and helps us deliver the best possible project to our users,” Vaudreuil said.