Updates

NEWS FLASH...

On March 15th the Army Corps of Engineers sent a letter to ITD that requested additional information about the design and construction of the project. The Corps also directed ITD to complete evaluations for alternatives to the Sand Creek alignment and several components of the project that require fill and dredging in Sand Creek, including the "shoreline extension" between Bridge St. and the Cedar St. Bridge. The information requested was needed in order for the Corps to process ITD's application for a permit to fill and dredge Sand Creek. Link to Corps letter to ITD

ITD responded to the request for more information on July 18.
Here is a link to downloadable excerpts in PDFs from ITD's Response to Corps

April 12, 2007

March 20, 2007

Corps of Engineers sent ITD a letter requesting more information and analyses for the permit to fill and dredge in order to construct the Sand Creek highway.

The letter contains 17 categories of items

Here are a few

UPDATE Spring 2007

NICAN asks for Reconsideration of the Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) decision to issue a conditional Lake Encroachment Permit for the Sand Creek highway project. At a special IDL Hearing on January 26, 2007 NICAN testified that IDL should reconsider their decision to permit the project for a variety of reasons.

Click here to check out NICAN’s testimony

NICAN also submitted a written document (“Brief”) to IDL that raises additional reasons why the permit should not be issued. Click here to read the Brief.

The process allowed ITD to respond in writing to issues raised at the Reconsideration Hearing and then NICAN got to respond to ITD’s submittal.

Click here to read our March 5th reply to ITD and IDL.

UPDATE September2006

The Idaho Transportation Department has submitted a NEW Application to the US Army Corps of Engineers for the Permits to discharge fill and dredge in Sand Creek in order to construct the Sand Creek bypass.

The Army Corps has issued a Public Notice that describes the projects and sets a deadline for comments and a date for a Public Hearing on the Application.

Comments - oral and written - will be accepted at the joint Public Hearing -- which will take place on November 20th at Sandpoint High School at 6:00PM. The Army Corp of Engineers will accept written comments until Dec 4, 2006.

ITD has submitted the same (Joint) Application to the Idaho Dept. of Lands (IDL) in order to obtain a Lakebed Encroachment Permit. IDL has issued a separate Public Notice soliciting comments.

Click Here to see the IDL Public Notice

We encourage active participation in this process - this is your chance to let the permitting agencies know why the proposed massive filling and dredging in Sand Creek is a bad idea -- due to the project's profound negative impacts on the community's economic, aesthetic, and environmental resources.

UPDATE August 2006

Construction of the Sand Creek Highway is still
a long way off

Click Here to find out why

UPDATE April 2005

FONSI and New Dredging Proposal from ITD

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has issued the Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the 2004 EA for the Changes and Additions to the Sand Creek "byway" project.

The FONSI is FHWA's determination that putting 73,000 cubic yards of fill in the creek and wetlands and removing 7000 ft of Sand Creek shoreline vegetation, among other actions, will have NO Significant Impact on the environment!

HOWEVER, The FONSI is by no means the final hurdle that must be overcome in order for ITD to start construction. ITD has NOT: 1) gotten the permit from the Army Corps of Engineers to place fill in Sand Creek and adjacent wetlands; 2) gotten the 401 Water Quality Certification from IDEQ; 3) or acquired the right-of-way property from the Railroad. Furthermore, the permit from the Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) will not be issued until ITD obtains the other permits and buys the Railroad property.

AND…ITD is now proposing to dredge a new channel in Sand Creek -- a major change to the project that will require additional permits. ITD proposes to dredge and remove about 4300 cubic yards (430 truckloads) of sandy creek bottom in order to avoid the impacts of forcing the creek to carve a new channel around the massive fill north of Bridge St. (Click on River Design Group report below for more information)

Public hearings and answers to many questions from the agencies and the public be required before permits for dredging are granted. ITD has still not provided answers to questions and additional information requested by the Army Corps and IDEQ several months ago. Furthermore, neither the EIS nor the EA contained the dredging proposal, and the FHWA did not consider the dredging in its FONSI.

Meeting these requirements will postpone construction for months and perhaps years. It will be very difficult for ITD to wriggle out of the regulatory morass they've created by 1) the poor choice for the bypass location and 2) their own mistakes and refusal to acknowledge the magnitude of the impacts of the project, until forced to.

ECONorthwest Economic Report in Adobe Acrobat

ITD’s Proposed Design Changes

Design Changes for the Sand Creek Bypass that will be proposed by ITD in a New Environmental Assessmant

South Bound Off-ramp Bending to pressure from the city, ITD agreed to include a South Bound Off-ramp at Superior Street. From a visual impact perspective this will add another massive highway structure to the south end of the project. The proposed Off-ramp would split off and descend from the massive bridge (“Sand Creek Bridge”) over Sand Creek and the Marina down to Superior Street. In the same vicinity the North Bound Off-ramp would split to the east and curve down and under the Sand Creek Bridge in order to empty traffic onto Superior. `

There will also be a South Bound On-ramp from traffic on Superior Street onto the elevated highway.

Fact: The top of the Sand Creek Bridge would be approximately 26 feet (3 stories) above ground or water level. It would be 60 feet wide and span approximately 320meters (3 football fields, 1040 feet) and be supported by 6 massive concrete piers in Sand Creek.

Fact: The highway bridge would have to be 25' plus 45' west of the current railroad bridge over Sand Creek to accommodate an additional track and meet Federal Highway and Railroad guidelines for required distance between railroad and highway bridges.

ITD will propose a Three Lane Highway (instead of 2 lanes). According to ITD, the third lane is necessary due to the addition of the South Bound Off Ramp.

Fact: Three 12 foot lanes + 10 foot shoulders + guard rails = a highway 60 feet wide up Sand Creek to Highway 200.

Tight Squeeze between the Cedar Street Bridge and the Depot

Fact: In order to provide access to the Depot there will be a 19.5 foot access road in addition to the 60 foot wide highway between the Cedar Street Bridge and the Depot. The west edge of the highway will be within about 20 feet of the main Cedar Street Bridge.

Most of the covered walkway on the east end of the Cedar Street Bridge that provides pedestrian access to the east bank of Sand Creek and the Depot would be gone.

The Walls

In order to “beautify” the bypass ITD will install Mechanically Stabilized Earth (MSE) embankments in the vicinity of Bridge Street (to the north and south of the highway bridge over Bridge St.) - it’s also cheaper. The walls replace a small portion of what was to be a continuous piling supported bridge structure from the south end of the bypass all the way north of the Cedar Street Bridge.

A few of the MSE walls will be engineered to support growing vegetation, hence the “vegetated wall” in ITD’s brochure. However, the majority of the walls would be “soil nail walls” faced with concrete slabs, including the east facing walls of the embankments that abut the bridge over Bridge Street

Fact: Concrete faced walls - 21 feet tall in places - will be the most prominent visual feature for the entire length of the bypass when viewed from downtown or anywhere on the west side of Sand Creek.

ITD is still trying to find an aesthetically pleasing solution to the highway section by the Cedar Street Bridge. Because it will have to extend so far out over the creek, a piling type bridge structure would be the simple solution. In order to “beautify” the project they’re looking into using “lightweight fill” or “cellular concrete” in order to construct an embankment and avoid damaging the Depot.

The Shoreline Extension

Replacing bridges supported by pilings with embankments north of Bridge Street would require a “shoreline extension” - filling a large area of the creek - in order to support and buttress the embankments and re-create lost shoreline. In addition, the shoreline between Bridge St. and Hwy 200 will also be extended to allow construction of a bike/pedestrian path along the bank of Sand Creek.

Fact: The fill needed for the trail is estimated to be 45,000 cu.yds. The estimate for the embankment is approximately 34,000 cubic yards of fill in the creek. The fill will extend about 100 feet out from the current bank in places between Bridge St. and the Depot. The footprint of the highway extends well out over Sand Creek in this area.

Loop on/off ramp instead of diamond interchange at Hwy 200 The loop ramp at the intersection of Highway 200 will greatly increase the “footprint” of the highway. Most of the vegetation (trees) will be removed. and replaced by concrete walls and massive on/off ramp structures.

The Lakeside Motel will be razed and replaced by a parking lot. All the trees will be gone. That will surely “beautify” the Marina area, along with the huge concrete bridge pillars and 60 foot wide highway bridge overhead.

The above information is based on ITD’s draft engineering plans for bridge and wall structures as well as information gathered at monthly ITD meetings with the Citizen’s Design Advisory Committee (CDAC) and ITD meetings with regulatory agencies.

Other Impacts - Noise -Highway noise (24 hours a day) will dominate the Sand Creek waterfront area and be ever present at City Beach.

Lighting on the elevated highway will dominate the waterfront and block any view of the night sky. The glow from the highway lights will be visible from almost anywhere in town.