Crews prepare to open US-95 south of Riggins on Monday

RIGGINS, Idaho (KIFI/KIDK) - Crews were able to drill and blast some of the biggest boulders over the last week that have kept the temporary road around the base of the slide on US-95 south of Riggins closed since July 10.

With these boulders now much smaller, the route may reopen as early as Monday, July 27.

“Now that the boulders are of manageable size, we will focus on clearing the detour around the base of the slide while continuing to monitor the stability of the slope,” Operations Engineer Jared Hopkins said. “We are still determining what the highway will look like when it reopens, but drivers should be prepared for flaggers and reduced lanes and hours.”

The final repairs to mitigate the slope failure are scheduled to be awarded on July 30. Once awarded, the contractor will be asked to mobilize within 48 hours.

Old Pollock Road will continue to be monitored and maintained for possible use as a detour in the future.