SANDPOINT - There will be thud.

Test piling for the U.S. Highway 95 bypass structure has been installed and is slated for a final re-strike test next month. The test results will determine how deep "production" piling will have to be pounded to support the Sand Creek Byway.

The final re-tap on the test pile is planned for Feb. 17, according to Idaho Transportation Department Engineer Ken Sorensen.

Construction contractors have used a vibratory hammer to get test pile started in the ground. Hydraulic impact hammers, which produce significantly more noise, will be used to drive the tubular lengths of steel into place.

The prep work for the production pile is already under way. Project officials say the production pile-driving operation will continue for months.

Bob Clucas of Parsons RCI, the project's lead contractor, said residents can expect to hear increased noise as the pile driving intensifies.

The installation of sheet piling for the shoreline extension on the east side of Sand Creek is slated to start next week.

"You're going to hear more pounding starting Monday," said Sorensen.

Crews will also continue removing trees and vegetation on the east side of the creek north of the Cedar Street Bridge. The clearing operation will extend north toward the city's water treatment plant on the Sand Creek peninsula.

The material will ultimately be fed into tub grinders and replaced on the ground as an erosion countermeasure.

In the meantime, the excavation of coffer dams continues for the placement of piers at the southernmost end of the project. Crews are also busy building a construction access pad off the former Lakeside Inn site so workers can gain access to more pier sites in the creek.

n Bypass construction update meetings are held at 11 a.m. on Thursdays at the Transportation Information Office at 202 North Second Avenue. Updates are also available on the Internet (www.itd.idaho.gov/projects/d1).