COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho – The Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) presented its redesigned plans for the I-90/U.S.-95 interchange at an open house, emphasizing safety as the primary goal. However, some residents expressed concerns about the impact on their neighborhoods.
The redesigned interchange aims to keep north-south traffic moving smoothly and prevent freeway ramps from backing up into I-90’s mainline traffic. Heather McDaniel from ITD explained the focus on safety.
“Safety is obviously the driving factor behind most everything that we do at ITD… a good chunk of what we’re looking at is when those ramps to the interstate back up into mainline traffic. That’s really the biggest safety risk that we’re evaluating,” said McDaniel.
The revised plan includes a grade separation, lifting U.S.-95 over Appleway. ITD insists this is necessary to prevent the intersection from failing within a few years.
“We went back to the drawing board, looked to see where we could make some improvements to that design… and data confirms that that is still necessary. So this ongoing design still does include that grade separation with the bridge over Apple Way,” said McDaniel.
New access options were also presented, including routes using Fruitland Lane and Haycraft. This has led to pushback from local residents.
Denny Lydeen, a resident on Fruitland Lane, voiced his concerns.
“All they’re doing is moving the traffic from Appleway up to the next light… I don’t see how rerouting the traffic and going over the top of Appleway is really going to solve the problem,” said Lydeen.
For many residents, the concern is not the new bridge but the increased local traffic on Fruitland Lane. They worry about existing issues with speeders, which could worsen.
Christopher Collings, whose family lives on Fruitland Lane, shared his worries.
“We already have an issue with speeders on that road… it’s marked 25, it’s not uncommon for people to drive 45 or more. We’re putting more families at risk in a road that isn’t meant to have sidewalks… we’re not looking at the full picture,” said Collings.
However, not all attendees opposed the plan. Some long-time residents, especially those north of town, support any improvements to freeway access.
Alan Golub, a resident off Lancaster, expressed his support.
“The traffic since I was here in ’91 has just exploded… anything that’s creative to make it better, I’m all for it,” said Golub.
ITD will continue to accept public comments for the next two weeks. The design team plans to use this feedback to decide which access option will move forward.
For more information on the Idaho Transportation Department’s projects, click here: https://itd.idaho.gov/projects/
