WALLACE –– On Thursday, the Shoshone County Commissioners signed a contract agreement between the county and GeoEngineers for the next phase of its Moon Pass project.  

In April, a rockslide wiped out a section of the road, delaying its seasonal opening and requiring hundreds of thousands of dollars in work to clear the debris. The road was reopened in early July, but more work is needed to make sure that another slide doesn’t happen.  

Shoshone County Public Works Director Jessica Stutzke reviewed the contract with the board, explaining how the upcoming project would progress and how it was being funded.  

According to Stutzke, in the immediate aftermath of the slide, the county secured funding through a disaster declaration. These funds came from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHA). Stutzke explained how the specific allocations required the project to be broken into two phases. The first phase was to clear the road of the 10,000 cubic yards of debris, which is where the FEMA money was spent. The second phase is making sure it doesn’t happen again.  

Stutzke further explained that the emergency money from FHA would be reimbursed to the county, but the county would have to front the cost of the project before it was paid back. This presented a challenge that was addressed earlier this week when the Idaho Transportation Department approved $1.2 million to the county for the project.  

“ITD graciously decided to fund the project and FHA will directly reimburse them,” Stutzke said. “This is big because the county could not carry that financial burden.”  

As part of this second phase, the county is paying GeoEngineers $155,000 to design a project that will be overseen by the Local Highway Technical Assistance Council (LHTAC). Stutzke told the board that the project will likely include some small-scale blasting, bolting, and the use of shotcrete to stabilize the hillside.  

GeoEngineers worked with the county in the immediate aftermath of the rockslide, acting as the safety and technical advisors as they cleared the road. After completing their design, the project will be put out for bid, and they will remain on-site to oversee the project.  

According to Stutzke, the project will be completed by mid-to-late fall of this year.