From landslides to price increases, the high-profile construction project on Highway 55 near Smiths Ferry has made headlines over the last few years.
With apparent inactivity at the site, readers reached out asking about the status of the project, and the Idaho Transportation Department tells BoiseDev there’s one element of the project outstanding: snow fencing.
The project to widen the narrow, winding stretch of Idaho 55 to improve safety started in September 2020. The project was originally supposed to be complete by the Fall of 2022, but has been pushed back several times. The original price tag was an estimated $18.9 million. Currently, ITD expects the price tag to be between $52 and $62 million.
Three major landslides also occurred within the project’s construction zone. In an extensive BoiseDev report, we looked into ‘cut 8’ which was a slope that gave ITD engineers problems for months before that portion of the hillside gave way — closing the road for ten days in 2021. Idaho Transportation Department spokesperson John Tomlinson said the landslide at cut 8 turned into a separate project. He said this was stabilized and completed in 2022 along with most of the original project, which included new pavement, guardrails, and wider shoulders
“Today, all of the erosion control, slope stabilization, and drainage work is done on cut 8, along with the anchors being installed for the snow fencing or umbrellas,” Tomlinson told BoiseDev over email.
Tomlinson said installing the snow fencing is the only remaining element of the project. He said fabrication issues caused delays in getting the materials earlier. Contingent on the weather, ITD plans to install those by the end of the year. Tomlinson said this would have minimal traffic impact.
“This snow fencing is an innovative, never before used supplementary system in Idaho that is specific to cut 8,” Tomlinson said. “This snow fencing is not essential to slope protection, but will add another level of safety and protection to the traveling public.”
