BY KAREN BOSSICK
You might want to rethink that trip to Boise this week.
The Idaho Transportation Department will close U.S. Highway 20 near Fairfield on Wednesday and Thursday, Oct. 16 and 17, in order for crews to pave the newly constructed Willow Creek and Rock Creek bridges.
The closure is expected to start at 11 a.m. and last for three hours each day.
The unexpected drop in temperatures this past month has provided crews with a very narrow window to complete work on the structures, said ITD’s South Central Idaho Project Manager Brock Dille.
“Briefly closing the highway will allow us to work more efficiently and, hopefully, prevent us from having to return to the area next year to complete the project,” he said.
The Willow Creek Bridge and Rock Creek Bridge construction projects have been underway since April 2018. Crews replaced aging, corroded culverts with new bridge structures that are expected to have a longer lifespan. The project also allows streams in both locations to be restored to a more natural condition.