Expanding the highway to four lanes on a new alignment will not only add capacity and reduce travel times but also significantly improve safety.
Once a permit is obtained from the Army Corps of Engineers, ITD will solicit bids for construction.
The new alignment will tie in at Reisenauer Hill, where the current four-lane section ends, and reconnect near the grain bins on the south end of Moscow.
Compared to the existing route, after construction US-95 will ascend at a more gentle grade up Reisenauer Hill to the prairie below Paradise Ridge. The highway will cut through small hills below the ridge to maintain a consistent grade, cross over Eid Road via a bridge and descend into Moscow.
Generally, US-95 will be shifted to the east less than three-quarters of a mile, and ITD is in the process of relinquishing its jurisdiction of what will be old US-95 to North Latah Highway District.
With a flatter grade and fewer approaches, the new route will provide safer travel between Moscow and Lewiston.
Map of new route (E-2)About 6.5 miles of highway will be expanded to four lanes divided by a 34-foot median in the rural section. Shoulders will be widened, curves will be made easier to navigate and the grade will be less steep. New ditches will keep precipitation from gathering on the roadway, and a 30-foot clear zone will provide a safe area if a vehicle goes off the road.
County road intersections will have right and left turn lanes, and some current access points will be combined to limit the number of new intersections and driveways.
In the urban section just south of Moscow, a center turn lane, curbs, gutters and sidewalks will be added.
Details, such as the timing of work, will become available once ITD bids the project for construction. A bid will be solicited once the right of way process is complete and ITD has a permit from ACOE.
Construction is expected to take two years, with most work in the first year to take place off alignment without impacts to traffic.
As of April 2020, ITD is gathering information to update its wetland report in order to submit a revised 404 permit application with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Following that application, ITD will finish right-of-way acquisition. After those two steps are completed, the project can be put out for construction bids, possibly for construction in 2021.