COEUR d'ALENE — Kootenai County will become Grand Central Station when it comes to road projects in 2017.

An improvement program approved by Kootenai Metropolitan Planning Organization includes $41.8 million in projects to be constructed next year that will receive federal funding.

"Patience will be a virtue," said Glenn Miles, executive director of KMPO, which includes representation from all local jurisdictions with road projects.

"It will be one of our busier years, but what really makes it unique is that it will all be focused within a 3-mile radius of Coeur d'Alene."

Miles said there are multiple factors fueling the busy construction year ahead, including the Legislature approving a 7-cent-per-gallon gas tax increase in 2015; the Idaho Transportation Department focused on maintenance and preservation of the existing road system; and the award of a federal grant to improve the U.S. 95 corridor in Coeur d'Alene and Hayden.

"What we're seeing now is doubling back to reconstruct and maintain what was already built, but we're going to have to start thinking more about expansion and long-term investments," Miles said. "If people in the ‘60s hadn't been thinking into the future, this place would be in a world of hurt today. We're going to have to make similar investments for the future for the next generation along with bicycle and pedestrian improvements."

Projects that will receive federal funding include:

• Interstate 90 rebuild in Coeur d'Alene, $22 million

Both directions of Interstate 90 on the east end of Coeur d'Alene will be torn up next year and rebuilt from Ninth Street to Sherman Avenue. Then, in 2018, the project will resume from Ninth Street to just west of the Northwest Boulevard interchange on the west side of the city.

The entire stretch is 3.85 miles. The freeway was constructed in 1960.

The project will include lowering the freeway under bridges 2 feet as some trailers don't have enough clearance, requiring semis to take detours.

Today's minimum standard for clearance under new bridges is 16 feet and Federal Highway Administration recommends 17 feet to get ahead of the curve. Freeway bridges in Coeur d'Alene have clearances of 15 to 16 feet, which has caught some drivers by surprise despite warning signs.

During both years of the project, the westbound lanes will be completed first.

• U.S. 95 access improvements from Interstate 90 to Highway 53, $8.5 million

Improvements aimed at improving traffic flow in the 8.4-mile corridor in 2017 and 2018 include signalization changes, eliminating cross-street entrances, adding turn lanes, reconstructing the bike and pedestrian trail on the east side of U.S. 95 and expanding Wilbur from U.S. 95 to Government Way.

• Government Way widening from Hanley to Prairie, $7.6 million

The stretch will be widened in 2017 from two lanes to five to continue improvements that were earlier made south of Hanley. Sidewalks, streetlights and bike lanes will be added as part of the improvements.

• U.S. 95 improvements at Ironwood, Emma in Coeur d'Alene, $1.5 million

Work will include improving the intersection at Ironwood, signalization at Emma and reconfiguring the road where U.S. 95 and Lincoln Way meet.

• U.S. 95 resurfacing from south of Coeur d'Alene, $4 million

The project will run from the Spokane River bridge to Cougar Gulch.

• Seltice Way improvements from Northwest Boulevard to Huetter, $4.5 million

Primarily funded by the city of Coeur d'Alene's urban renewal agency, the project calls for a new asphalt road surface, reconfigurations of Seltice at the intersections of Atlas Road and Grand Mill Lane, and the inclusion of pedestrian and bicycle access.

A separate project on this same stretch will be $395,000 in sidewalk improvements.

Traffic signals are being added at Huetter and Seltice and the intersection at Atlas will either have signals or be a roundabout to relieve congestion.

FUTURE ROAD WORK

Looking ahead, Highway 41 from Mullan Avenue to Prairie Avenue in Post Falls is slated to be widened in 2019 and cost $8 million. The highway from Prairie to Boekel in Rathdrum is scheduled to be widened in 2021 and cost $17 million.

Traffic signals are slated to be installed at the intersection of Lancaster and Highway 41 in 2020, but Rathdrum officials are lobbying to have the project expedited due to safety concerns, especially with the Kootenai Technical Education Campus and now North Idaho College's technical facility open on Lancaster.

"With NIC just opening up, it's increased the amount of traffic that goes through that intersection," Rathdrum City Administrator Leon Duce said. "Our concern is with the number of young drivers at that intersection and the accidents that may come. If somebody is stopped there and you're not paying attention, you're looking at rear-end accidents."

Miles said concerns about the intersection of Lancaster and Highway 41 was a common theme during the recent public input phase for the Highway 41 corridor plan. He said that, if the project is expedited, planning will have to consider the future widening of Highway 41 in that area so work won't have to be done twice.

Miles said the Huetter Road bypass, which would relieve U.S. 95 and Highway 41 as another major north-south route, is not in the five-year plan. However, transportation officials have been talking about whether it should be scheduled sooner rather than later with an increase in traffic on Interstate 90.

Hayden and the Post Falls Highway District have secured setbacks in the corridor to plan for the future bypass.

The 2017-2021 transportation improvement program is available at kmpo.net. It is under consideration by the Federal Highway Administration.