Update for December 3, 2007

Riggins Mayor, Bob Crump led a forum at the Riggins High School on November 16 whereby interested parties were invited to provide their comments on the project – primarily the road closure schedule.  Representatives from the Federal Highway Administration participated in forum.

Through this meeting and other recent discussions, FHWA realizes that the past public involvement efforts somehow did not translate into developing a road closure schedule that was acceptable to the public.   FHWA takes this situation very seriously and fully intends to work with the concerns being presented now.  FHWA will focus on providing a road closure schedule that is tolerable for the residents and businesses of Riggins and the upriver area, and the recreational users who travel to the area to fish, raft, jet boat, sightsee, and hunt.  A balance is needed when addressing these needs by allowing the contractor to construct a quality roadway that meets the needs of the project for the long term without extending the proposed three-year duration of these construction impacts.

Debco Construction has agreed to a much less disruptive schedule through the New Year holiday.  In the original contract, they were allowed to close the road from 6 a.m. on Monday to 6 p.m. on Friday.  Under the modification, Debco will perform their construction activities according to the following schedule:

Additionally, Debco Construction, has submitted a value-engineering proposal which revises the retaining wall design and essentially would enable Debco to construct the retaining walls without closing the road for week-long periods.  Our goal is to develop an alternate design that is acceptable in terms of technical adequacy, safety, cost, and time, yet doesn’t require us to close the road.  In the event we are not fully successful in this endeavor, we will make every attempt to structure any road closures so that the impact on the local community is minimized.

By mid to late December, FHWA should know whether or not an alternate wall design is viable.  The possible outcomes are:

1. Alternate wall design is acceptable for all twelve retaining wall locations and extended (week-long) closures would not be necessary,
2. Alternate wall design can be used at some wall locations, but due to subsurface conditions the original contract design must be used at other locations, necessitating some extended closures, or
3. Alternate wall designs are not viable at any wall location, and the original contract design must be used for all walls, thereby requiring extended closures.

Everyone realizes there will be impacts to travel on Salmon River road, but there is a solution.  The Federal Highway Administration and Debco Construction are committed to finding an answer that minimizes impacts on the Riggins community.  We appreciate your patience as we work through these issues.

Jane Traffalis
Construction Project Manager
Western Federal Lands Highway Division
Federal Highway Administration

If you would like to provide a comment, click here: salmonriver@mail.wfl.fhwa.dot.gov

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