Photo courtesy of the Idaho

Multiple changes will be made to State Highway 53, as detailed here.

The Idaho Transportation Department began construction of an interchange at State Highway 53 and Pleasant View Road near Hauser in early October.

Scarsella Bros. Inc. of Kent, Wash., will serve as the contractor.

The project will enhance safety in the highly traveled corridor by eliminating three railroad/vehicle crossings, streamlining access to SH-53 and increasing capacity on key routes. Work will include these primary improvements:

• Constructing a diamond interchange at SH-53 and Pleasant View Road.
• Removing access to SH-53 from four roads: Hauser Lake Road, Hollister Hills Road, Prairie Avenue and McGuire Road.
• Expanding Pleasant View Road to two lanes in each direction through the interchange.
• Widening SH-53 to two lanes in each direction with a new center median through the project limits.

Crews will start construction with tasks that likely won't affect existing traffic flow for the remainder of the year. Impacts to drivers are anticipated to start in spring 2025.

This project was first identified in 2006 as part of the Bridging the Valley Study. The BTV's goal was to improve safety by separating vehicle and train traffic in the 42-mi. corridor between Spokane, Wash., and Athol, Idaho. The final design was completed in 2015 with input from interested parties and the community.

In mid-2023, the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Railroad Administration awarded ITD a grant which made construction of this project possible now, rather than years in the future. The grant program was created to improve safety at rail crossings in communities across the country to save lives, time and resources for American families.

"Communities along SH-53 are regularly impacted by noise and blocked traffic as trains move through this area," Project Manager James Dorman said. "This project will minimize conflict points and streamline traffic by bringing them safely through the Pleasant View Road interchange."

Additional financial contributions were made by ITD's partnering organizations: BNSF Railway and the Post Falls Highway District. The estimated construction cost of this project is $30 million.

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