GOVERNOR LAUNCHES DOVER BRIDGE PROJECT
BRIDGE REPLACEMENT REFLECTS COMMITMENT TO ADDRESSING LONG-TERM NEEDS
 

(Dover) – Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter said today that the launch of northern Idaho’s long-awaited Dover Bridge project is a positive step toward driving Idaho’s economic recovery and preparing for a more prosperous future.

“Projects like this mean success for Idaho by boosting our bottom line, providing job and career opportunities, and building safer, better roads and bridges for Idahoans,” the Governor said. “The Dover Bridge is exactly the kind of project that reflects the critical need for us to think long-term about our road and bridge needs, and our responsibility for addressing them. This isn’t a quick fix, and our approach to this issue can’t be either.”

Addressing Idaho’s big and growing backlog of road and bridge maintenance, repair and improvement needs is a key element of Governor Otter’s Project 60 initiative – a comprehensive, coordinated statewide effort to create jobs and economic opportunity.

The Dover Bridge is among several projects underway in Bonner and Boundary counties that position the region for improved economic growth. Water system upgrades are taking place in Priest River and Sagle, broadband capability is being expanded in both counties, the Boundary County and Lake Pend Oreille school districts are among the first 12 school districts in the state being hooked up to the Idaho Education Network, and officials are studying expansion of the Sandpoint Airport.

Already this year, Sandpoint has seen plans for development of everything from a new grocery store to convention facilities and a new commercial center. So far in 2009 the Sandpoint area has seen new investment of $40 million, creating more than 700 direct jobs. An attached two-page fact sheet details some of that economic activity.

The Dover Bridge project is anticipated to create between 300 and 400 direct and indirect jobs, including construction jobs ranging from surveyors and heavy equipment operators to concrete workers and pavers.
Indirectly, the project will make Sandpoint and surrounding areas served by U.S. Route 2 more attractive to additional business investment and job creation.

The new bridge also will allow the movement of heavier and higher loads, opening up a desirable truck route between Washington and Montana. Among the many companies benefitting from the higher load capacity are lumber companies Riley Creek, and Stimson, as well as Interstate Concrete and Asphalt, PEAK Sand and Gravel and Woods Crushing and Hauling.

The Dover bridge project – which replaces what has been called one of the most dangerous bridges in Idaho – is part of U.S. Route 2 and is the northernmost east-west highway through the United States. The work involves widening the narrow, deteriorating bridge, eliminating traffic bottlenecks and safety concerns.

“Roads and bridges connect people to jobs and career opportunities, tourists to destinations, and goods and services to the market,” Governor Otter said. “They are a big part of our broad-based efforts to make a real, measurable and sustainable difference for the people we serve.”

Economic Activity in Boundary and Bonner counties - 2009

Road and Bridge Projects

• Sandpoint Byway: $98.6 million
• Dover Bridge: $22 million
• Lightning Creek Bridge: $6.4 million

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TOTAL: $127 million
 

Other Direct Investments

• City of Ponderay: $48,000 in stimulus funding for a pedestrian facility on Kootenai Cutoff Road
• City of Dover: $150,000 in stimulus funding for a vehicle and transit center remodel
• Environmental Impact Statement work under way on the GARVEE-funded Garwood-to-Sagle Project, which will upgrade 31 miles of U.S. Highway 95 between Hayden and Sagle to a four-lane, divided controlled-access highway with interchanges in high-traffic locations.
• Bonner and Boundary counties are using $80,000 in federal stimulus funding administered by the Idaho Transportation Department to hire a “mobility manager” to help develop multi-modal transportation systems for the area.
• Pend Oreille Bay Trail received a $650,000 grant from the Environmental Protection Agency in May for cleanup assessment work on a two-mile corridor along the north shore of Lake Pend Oreille.

Other Economic Development Activity

      Sandpoint Airport Taxiway: The City of Sandpoint received a state Gem Community Grant to
      complete a feasibility study on construction of a West Taxiway at Sandpoint Airport.

      Bio-Fuels Power Generation: With assistance from the Governor’s Office of Energy Resources, the
      North Idaho Renewable Energy Coalition has been organized to facilitate renewable energy power
      generation in the five northern counties.

      Regional Sewer Development: Bonner County Economic Development Corporation led the effort to
      organize the Pend Oreille Clean Water Alliance, which is working to regionalize sewer systems in the
      Sandpoint area.

      Regional Broadband Grant: Bonner and Boundary counties’ economic development corporations are
      working with the Panhandle Area Council to apply for federal stimulus money to bring wireless,
      high-definition television, telephone and Internet services to both counties.

      Priest River Water System: The City of Priest River received a Community Development Block Grant
      and USDA-Rural Development funding for water system upgrades.

      Community Water System: The Sagle area established a local water district and is installing water
      lines, with funding provided by the state Department of Environmental Quality.

      Educational Bonds and Override Levies: The Lake Pend Oreille School District passed a
      supplemental levy to expand Kootenai Elementary School.
 

Private Development

• Luther Park Senior Living Complex in Sandpoint
• Renova Super 1 Food Center, at the Old LP Mill property in Sandpoint
• Jaime Packer Community Center, including an ice rink, convention facilities and lodging, in Sandpoint
• Holiday Inn Express in Ponderay
• Dover Bay residential development in Dover
• Mountain West Commercial Center in Sandpoint

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