Court decision allows Idaho to move forward with U.S. 95 expansion south of Moscow

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A recent appellate court decision means the Idaho Transportation Department will move ahead on the expansion of U.S. Highway 95 to two lanes in each direction from Thorncreek Road to Moscow.

Environmentalists last year filed a lawsuit against ITD and the Federal Highway Administration, claiming the highway’s expansion along the 6.5 mile stretch would cut through a section of Paradise Ridge, and lead to loss of wetlands, remnants of Palouse Prairie, farmland, and conservation reserve. A federal court ruled against the motion in August 2017, but the coalition appealed.

The 9th U.S. Court of Appeals on Friday ruled in favor of ITD and the FHA.

ITD is working to submit a permit application regarding wetland mitigation to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, with hopes that the project can be put out to bid next summer, with a targeted completion in the fall of 2021.

The expansion would make all of Highway 95 between Moscow and Lewiston two lanes in each direction. (Lewiston Tribune)

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