Spring county road maintenance preview

By Lyndsie Kiebert
Reader Staff

Although snow storms still make the occasional appearance during unpredictable North Idaho springs, the Bonner County Road and Bridge Department is converting it’s snow plows to dump trucks in preparation for improving the county’s nearly 700 miles of road.

Road and Bridge Director Steve Klatt said once weight limits are lifted, crews north of Sandpoint  will begin spreading gravel throughout the Center Valley and Upper Gold Creek. Crews in Sagle will be cleaning up snow damage on Lakeshore, Bottle Bay and Sagle Roads before starting roadside ditching and brushing on Sagle Road. Priest River crews will improve Carr Creek Road, reopen Eastriver Road and replace culverts on Peninsula Road. They’ll then head north to resurface Granite Creek Marina and Reeder Creek Roads.

Klatt said the most notable project coming up is the rebuild and closure of the Bottle Bay Road/Highway 95 intersection beginning in May and carrying through the summer. A bridge project on Eastriver Road will affect traffic but not close the road, and two large culvert projects will result in short-term closures on Eastside and Evergreen Roads.

Klatt said spring in the county is “an interesting season of weight limits, potholes and mud, soon to be followed by dust.”

The combat the dust, the department applies magnesium chloride to nearly 400 miles of gravel roads, and some areas receive two coats due to high traffic.

To ask questions, call Road and Bridge at 208-255-5681, or email Klatt at steve.klatt@bonnercountyid.gov.