SANDPOINT — Federal aid for a bridge grant application to replace the bridge over the Boyer Slough in Kootenai was unanimously approved by county commissioners. 

In addition to Bonner County Road and Bridge’s grant application request, the department was also approved for a temporary property use agreement. 

Road and Bridge staff engineer Matt Mulder presented the request to county commissioners during Tuesday’s business meeting, sharing the department’s intent to pursue a grant application for the Local Federal Aid Incentive Program.  

The grant application requests $3.8 million toward replacing the Whiskey Jack Road Bridge over Boyer Slough, with a 7.34% county match. The bridge, according to a memorandum submitted to the county, was constructed in 1969 and is too narrow, making it functionally obsolete, according to Mulder. He also noted that, while the bridge is not in poor or in failing condition yet, the funding could take 10 years, where the bridge may reach critical condition. 

“The area beyond the bridge is rapidly growing, with a lot of subdivisions happening and a lot more in the works. So, we know that the bridge is going to be a real point of issue, as it is the only access into that area,” Mulder said.  

The project is expected to cost around $4.8 million to preserve access across the slough during construction.  

Mulder noted that the grant program is awarding double points for timber bridge applications, where he believes the Whiskey Rock bridge will score well in the grant rankings. Grant applications are typically scored based on a set of project-based criteria. Once the scores of each criterion are totaled, a grant may be awarded to the applications with the higher scores.  

If funds are awarded, the bridge project would be added into the Idaho Transportation Investment Program before a funding year would be assigned, which would most likely be between fiscal year 2030 and 2035, according to Mulder.

Mulder said the county will be expected to contribute $1 to $1.5 million for the project, anticipating that the department will have adequate time to save for the bridge replacement if awarded the grant.  

The approval in support of the grant does not bind the county financially, and a decision will have to be made to approve the grant if it is awarded.  

The Road and Bridge department was also approved to enter into a temporary property use agreement for the county to install a fence alongside a private property line near the Colburn Culver Road Bridge over the Pack River. 

Construction of the fence is part of a bridge grant project for the Colburn Culver Bridge, where all costs are covered by the state. The fence aims to help community members stay on the public right of way when utilizing the river, providing public access to the water through a pedestrian path.