COUNCIL, Idaho — One lane of U.S. Highway 95 is now temporarily open near milepost 146.5 following a landslide on Sunday that took out a portion of the highway's shoulder. The lane is designated for local traffic and will only be accessible during daylight hours from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Commercial vehicles are not permitted on the narrow road, with flaggers in New Meadows and Council directing these vehicles to turn around. The Idaho Transportation Department, however, says that they are modifying the permitting process to allow commercial vehicles to use State Highway 55.
The engineering team is reviewing data from foundation drilling conducted on Wednesday and expects to have a design for a retaining wall by Tuesday. The wall will be anchored by steel piles driven into stable rock layers of the slope. The data will help determine the placement and depth of these steel piles. These repairs are expected to begin next week, but ITD says the public should expect the highway to be impacted until at least late-April.
Idaho News 6 will continue to update this story as more information on the closure becomes available.
