U.S. 95 to reopen after weeks of landslide repairs, detours near McCall
A segment of U.S. Highway 95 southwest of McCall will reopen Monday after a month of repairs, the Idaho Transportation Department announced Thursday.
ITD closed 25 miles of the highway between New Meadows and Council last month after a landslide collapsed several hundred feet of the roadway due to heavy rainfall on March 16.
Since March 31, crews have been working double shifts to repair the collapsed roadway, an ITD news release said. That work involved a 10-foot-deep excavation of the collapsed road, followed by constructing a retaining wall anchored into the roadside using steel piles, the Idaho Statesman previously reported.
U.S. Highway 95 is “one of Idaho’s most essential transportation routes” Dan McElhinney, ITD’s chief operations officer, said in the news release. The closed section travels north-south through towns including Hoover, Fruitvale, Starkey, Glendale, Stevens, Evergreen, Woodland, Pine Ridge, Tamarack and Rubicon.
For some residents, the four-week closure meant long detours on Idaho 55, which was ITD’s suggested alternative route.
McElhinney thanked the nearby residents’ patience during the closure.
The release noted that roadside and guardrail work may continue after Monday, requiring temporary lane closures.
ITD had initially anticipated reopening the highway in early May.
