BONNERS FERRY — Representatives from the Kootenai National Wildlife Refuge have announced that Riverside Road, which runs directly through the refuge, will be closed for road improvements until fall. 

The closure includes the east and center parking lots and associated trailheads along the county road. The auto-tour route will remain open to eastbound motor vehicles — toward town — as conditions allow until mid-July. 

“However, if reports of drivers traveling the wrong way on the auto-tour route continue, the route will be closed earlier for safety reasons,” Shannon Ehlers, refuge manager, said. 

Most of the refuge will remain open during construction, including refuge headquarters, the picnic area and all trails, with foot traffic also permitted along the auto-tour route. 

Riverside Road, from the Lion’s Den intersection to Myrtle Creek Bridge, will be intermittently reduced to single-lane traffic during construction, with delays of up to 30 minutes expected.

“The county-owned and administered Riverside Road that runs through Kootenai National Wildlife Refuge is under construction from March 30 through the fall,” Ehlers said in a statement. “The road is being raised, widened and improved to provide the community and refuge visitors with a safer and more visually appealing route to the refuge and points northward.” 

Work is being completed by Western Federal Lands and Granite Construction. Ehlers said the project aims to address recurring problems with the existing road. 

“Riverside Road, in its current state across the refuge, is in poor condition and sits lower than much of the surrounding land,” Ehlers said. “As a result, unseasonable rain often causes the road to flood. By raising the road, the portion under construction will no longer be at risk of flooding.” 

In summer 2025, the refuge underwent habitat restoration, resulting in portions of the refuge being closed to the public, including the east parking lot on Riverside Road. 

Western Federal Lands is part of the Federal Highway Administration, an agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation that supports state and local governments in the design, construction and maintenance of highways and federally or tribally owned lands, according to its website. 

Granite Construction, based in Watsonville, California, recently received a $495 million project in Laredo, Texas, from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.