Those who are familiar with the unique roadways of North Idaho know that traffic impacts continually climb as newcomers and old-timers alike travel to explore all the "Gem State” has to offer. 

With the clear lakes and rugged mountains, it’s no wonder the panhandle region sees an influx of visitors during the summer and winter months. To account for the influx of people and vehicles, Idaho Transportation Department officials said the agency is continually working through environmental analysis and engineering studies, along with input from local community members, to continue to make improvements to roadways to build a safer highway corridor.  

Congestion and safety concerns have been highlighted as a worry among North Idaho locals, where left-turns onto highways or sudden lane merges may be familiar to most who know the lay of the land, but pose a danger for those who are unfamiliar with the roadways.  

Most of the projects along U.S. Highway 95 in District 1 include conducting transportation studies, paving roads, and the addition of turn lanes, all aimed at improving safety for Idaho drivers. 

Planned and active ITD projects along U.S. Highway 95 can be found at bit.ly/4e9Kiil.  

ITD professional engineer CarrieAnn Hewitt said one of the major projects being worked on is improving roadways on U.S. Highway 95 from Dufort Road to Lakeshore Drive — a project that continues to see an outpour in public feedback.  

Through extensive environmental impact evaluations, ITD identified a handful of future needs and potential improvements to U.S. Highway 95, including two new interchanges located at Dufort Road and Brisboys Road, 12-foot travel lanes with 10-foot shoulders and a center median, two underpasses at Monarch Road/North Gun Club Road and Sagle Road, a frontage road network on both sides of U.S. Highway 95 and a shared-use pathway to accommodate pedestrians and cyclists.  

According to ITD officials, the frontage road aims to maintain and connect key locations such as Sagle Elementary School, Sagle Fire Station, Bottle Bay Road and Lakeshore Drive.  

The project aims to look at increased traffic volumes, not just present-day traffic.  

“It is important to understand that this project is not being built for present-day traffic volumes. By 2045, projections estimate that traffic will increase by 64% in the project area,” ITD officials said. 

Officials note that the proposed project is in the process of completing its preliminary design and environmental re-evaluation, where the securement of funds is currently being established. Hewitt said the department is actively waiting to review the results of a grant application that was submitted to help fund changes on Dufort Road.  

This major roadway project is just one of many that ITD has established in an effort to make U.S. Highway 95 safe as the region continues to welcome citizens, vacationers, snowbirds and more to the Idaho panhandle.