Kootenai officials celebrate opening of new city street
Bonner County Daily Bee | UPDATED 3 years, 4 months AGO
Kootenai and Independent Highway District officials pose for a photo after opening a new section of Second Street in the city. In the front row, from from left, are Ryan Luttmann, city engineer; Councilwoman Grace Bauer; Kootenai City Clerk Ronda Whittaker; Kootenai Mayor Nancy Lewis, and Councilman David Sundquist. In the back row, from left, are
IHD crew, Councilman Daniel Schock, IHD Commissioner Brian Ive, IHD crew; and IHD project supervisor, Brett Engel.
(Courtesy photo)
KOOTENAI — A small crowd gathered in mid-August for a ribbon-cutting to celebrate the opening of the new stretch of Second Avenue in the city.
The street, recently paved and painted, connects Boise and Humbird streets, and improves connectivity for all modes of transportation, Kootenai officials said in a press release.
“This key project was the top priority for the City Council and provides a direct route from Kootenai Elementary to the traffic signal on McGhee Road,” Ryan Luttmann, city engineer, said.
Kootenai officials said the connection had been part of the city’s master plan for quite some time, but without funding it sat as an unfinished right-of-way for many years. However, City Council members, led by Mayor Nancy Lewis, budgeted money for paving the roadway. The city then partnered with the Independent Highway District to have the crews prepare the corridor, construct the road base, and install roadway signage. Wood’s Crushing and Hauling, Inc. was awarded the bid for the asphalt paving.
With the beginning of the school year just days away, the road’s opening was not only timely, but practical.
“The elementary school is the heart of the community,” Luttmann said. “Providing a more direct route for parents and students will not only improve vehicular traffic flow but improve bicycle and pedestrian connectivity as well.”