ITD provides update on Long Bridge pedestrian access

Other upcoming projects include eliminating left turn option from Lakeshore to U.S. 95

By Zach Hagadone
Reader Staff

Pedestrians and cyclists on the non-vehicle span of the Long Bridge will have to navigate around portions of the structure that are closed as engineers conduct an analysis of needed repairs.

The Idaho Transportation Department announced the temporary access restrictions on May 7, citing “normal wear and tear” consistent with the age of the bridge, which opened to vehicle traffic in 1956 and was converted to pedestrian use in 1981.

According to ITD spokesperson Heather McDaniel, inspectors performing a routine evaluation found progressing deterioration at the ends of several of the concrete beams below the bridge deck, and will be conducting further investigation at the end of the month to determine what repair work will be necessary.

“The areas of the bridge that are supported by those deteriorating beams have been blocked off to pedestrians until repairs can be made while still allowing the bridge to be accessible for those who use it for walking, biking, etc.,” McDaniel told the Reader.

ITD emphasized the importance of bridge users following posted signs and traffic control devices and staying out of restricted areas.

Meanwhile, the vehicle restriction on the pedestrian bridge makes structural work more difficult, as ITD inspection teams usually employ a large, heavy “under bridge inspection truck” capable of lowering crews over the side and under the span via a boom to access below-deck elements.

“Because we can’t use a UBIT, these inspections had to be performed from below — typically from a boat on the water below, or with a drone to get closer looks at specific areas,” McDaniel said. 

“Those inspection tactics are what revealed the deterioration we are now concerned with, and our teams are actively devising a plan to do a more in-depth inspection at the end of May that will provide the level of detail required to finalize a plan for repairs, which may include the use of a barge to access the bridge from beneath, or by using a lighter vehicle from the top side that can be used to lower inspectors and crews over the edge to access the structure that way,” she added. “Much of that is still to be determined pending the outcome of the more thorough evaluation at the end of this month.”

McDaniel said it’s too early to tell the extent or cost of the needed work, and will be determined after the upcoming in-depth investigation with potential costs identified later in the summer. 

The access limitation also means the Veterans of Foreign Wars will delay the installation and dedication of benches made by the Sandpoint High School welding class originally planned for this month until further notice.

Meanwhile, ITD provided an update on long-term plans both for the pedestrian and vehicle bridges, telling the Reader that a preliminary study begun in 2024 found the best option for upgrading the Long Bridge would be construction of a new bridge parallel to the existing span with two northbound-dedicated lanes. The existing bridge would then be converted to southbound traffic for a total of four lanes in both directions.

The planned northbound bridge would accommodate bike and pedestrian traffic, with the 1956 bridge eventually removed.

“At this point, ITD does not have a finalized plan regarding when the existing pedestrian bridge would ultimately be removed, or whether it would remain in service during all, or portions of, future bridge construction,” McDaniel said. “Those decisions will be made much further into the preliminary design process as engineering, environmental, navigation, permitting and construction considerations are evaluated. …

“We also recognize how important pedestrian and bicycle access across the lake is to the Sandpoint community,” she added. “[M]aintaining some form of connectivity for pedestrians and cyclists during future construction activities will be an important consideration throughout project development. At this stage, though, it is simply too early to know exactly what that solution may look like.”

Ultimately, the four-lane bridge configuration is intended to tie into the expansion plans for U.S. 95 to the south through Sagle, with the U.S.-95 Dufort to Lakeshore project currently undergoing an environmental reevaluation that will give the greenlight through NEPA for work on the corridor from the Long Bridge south to Dufort Road.

More immediately — and considering the recent prevalence of wrecks and other traffic incidents on or near the bridge — ITD is also addressing crashes and congestion within the corridor, including upcoming changes at the U.S. 95 and Lakeshore Drive intersection.

McDaniel told the Reader that the department is preparing to re-stripe the intersection to eliminate the option of making a left turn from Lakeshore onto the highway, directing motorists to use the J-turn located to the south in order to access U.S. 95 going north. 

That work is expected to take place in late May to early June, with a raised concrete median planned for construction later in the summer that would physically prevent vehicles from left turns off Lakeshore.

“That should help to significantly reduce the number of crashes we are seeing there, which frequently cause back-ups onto the bridge,” McDaniel said. 

Overall cost for the future two-lane northbound bridge and separated pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure will be “at least $225 million,” she said, and “could change significantly as the study advances and project details become more defined.”

To cover the cost, ITD is gearing up to apply for a grant to perform preliminary design development and geotechnical analysis of the subsoil conditions in the lakebed, which McDaniel said are “less-than-ideal.” That analysis is expected to cost “roughly a few million dollars,” she added, but because of the scale and complexity of the overall project — and the reality that scarce state matching funds are required alongside most federal grants — ITD is exploring the possibility of breaking up the work into smaller phases over time.

“Realistically, construction of a future replacement bridge is still likely many, many years away and will depend heavily on future funding availability for continued study, design and eventual construction,” McDaniels said.

Additional updates and more information will be shared by ITD as details become available, though for more information on the U.S. 95-Lakeshore intersection project, go to bit.ly/LakeshoreIntersection. Follow other Sandpoint area ITD projects at bit.ly/SandpointProjects.