RIGGINS, Idaho — Starting Tuesday night, the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) will reopen Highway 95 for nighttime travel after it was closed due to a massive rockslide. The temporary road around the base of the highway will also be open 24/7 unless closures are required for safety concerns or repairs.
“We have worked with our geotechnical experts to establish a monitoring and lighting system that allows us to continually observe and survey the slope,” Operations Engineer Jared Hopkins said. “Now that we can do it safely outside of daylight hours, opening up for nighttime travel will better serve our customers who need to make deliveries at night.”
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Flaggers will be on-site tonight to direct two lanes of traffic through the work area. Temporary signals will replace the flaggers after tonight and they will be controlled by a spotter who will observe the slope and coordinate with surveyors. Old Pollock Road will continue to be posted for local traffic only.
“This slide has proven to be a complicated issue, and we would like to thank everyone for their patience as we work to resolve it in a safe manner,” Hopkins said.
Long-term plans are still being designed and are not expected to be finished this week. ITD will send another update once a contractor has been hired.
