Downtown construction timeline lengthened

By Lyndsie Kiebert
Reader Staff

Though initial estimates had the current phase of downtown construction slated for completion Nov. 26, city officials announced Oct. 4 that the end of November will mark only an intermission for the project as work will continue into the early spring.

The corner of First Ave. and Main St. in Sandpoint on Oct. 9. Photo by Ben Olson.

“Due to a variety of factors, it has been determined that the initially proposed acceleration schedule is no longer viable,” said Sandpoint Infrastructure and Development Services Manager Amanda Wilson in an Oct. 4 statement. “The contractor has encountered a variety of utility conflicts and resource challenges.”

The current work, which is happening from Second Avenue and Cedar Street to First Avenue and Church Street, is known as Phase II of the Downtown Revitalization Project, which began last summer with a complete makeover of Cedar Street from Second to Fifth avenues.

One of the factors delaying Phase II, according to Wilson, is that the “construction market has made it impractical to work two shifts, especially at this time of year,” but that “the contractor will continue to work 12 hours per day, Monday [through] Saturday.”

“The original contract milestones have not changed and the contractor will continue progressing work in a manner that achieves a paved street open to vehicles by Oct. 30, shutting down for the winter on Nov. 26,” Wilson said. 

In the meantime, business owners are welcome to hang signs and lights on the fencing along the sidewalks.

Wilson predicted that “the project will be substantially complete before Lost in the ’50s” in mid-May, 2020.

For more information and to follow the progress of downtown construction, visit sandpointstreets.com or facebook.com/cityofsandpoint.