SANDPOINT — Plans to replace the decaying Sand Creek bridge along Schweitzer Cutoff Road and install a traffic roundabout at the intersection of Boyer Avenue are still in the development stages. However, this summer crews will be doing road work in that area that will likely affect traffic.

The cities of Sandpoint and Ponderay obtained federal funding via the Local Highway Technical Assistance Council for bridge replacement, and that project is slated to get underway in 2017, according to city officials. The grant from LHTAC will cover 85 percent of the bridge replacement while Sandpoint and Ponderay must provide a 15-percent funds match, according to city documents.

The federal money does not cover roundabout construction, but the Sandpoint City Council determined in April that doing the work simultaneously would save on costs. Although the project is still in the planning stage, officials are moving forward with a recommendation for bridge design. The precast concrete girder design, being the least expensive to build and requiring less ongoing maintenance than the other two designs — concrete box culverts and premanufactured arches — is the option of choice, according to a report dated May 2016. 

This week, Interstate Concrete & Asphalt intends to begin work on the addition of a bike lane between Boyer Avenue and Boyer Road along Schweitzer Cutoff Road. Funding is already in place for the project, according to the Public Works Department.

Wednesday, the company will excavate storm water ponds, a project that will last seven days, according to ICA's schedule, and trucks will be hauling away excess material. From June 16 to July 1, ICA will clear and excavate the land to the south of Schweitzer Cutoff Road, removing approximately 12,000 cubic yards of soil and debris. After a break for the Fourth of July holiday, ICA will commence trenching and relocating utilities to clear the way for the path. This phase will extend from July 8 through 15, if all goes according to schedule.

Throughout August and September, ICA will be paving the path bordering the roadway, and crews will be painting lines, installing signs and adding landscape material.