County earns grant to repair Squaw Valley, Grouse Creek Bridges

By Lyndsie Kiebert
Reader Staff

A pair of Bonner County bridges will see some much-needed repair in coming months thanks to a $250,000 grant from the Local Highway Technical Assistance Council.

The two bridges Bonner County Road and Bridge will use the funds to fix are the Squaw Valley and Grouse Creek Bridges.

“We will get to work and get it done this year,” said Road and Bridge staff engineer Matt Mulder.

The grant does not require a match from Bonner County. Mulder said any remaining funds once both bridges are repaired will go back to LHTAC.

“Our bridges have been neglected for quite some time, and I know that we’ve continued to put in for grants,” Commissioner Jeff Connolly said. “It’s nice to see us get grants to do some of this work because it is hard to keep up with everything we’ve got in Bonner County, bridge-wise and road-wise.”

The Squaw Valley Bridge is located near Coolin, and the Grouse Creek Bridge is located northeast of Sandpoint. Road and Bridge Director Steve Klatt said the quarter million from LHTAC is specifically for those two only.

“But we have plenty more to do,” Klatt said.

No start dates have been set for either project.