ITD ends left turns at Long Bridge south end, cites safety

Drivers coming off Lakeshore Drive at the south end of the Long Bridge will no longer be able to make a direct left onto U.S. 95. Idaho Transportation Department crews began re-striping the intersection, and the new setup now sends all traffic leaving Lakeshore Drive right onto the highway, with northbound travelers required to continue to the existing median U-turn about a half-mile away.

The change affects more than one movement. Drivers who used to cross from Lakeshore Drive to Lakewood Avenue also must use the same right-turn and U-turn pattern. Northbound U.S. 95 drivers can still turn left onto Lakeshore Drive, but the restriction applies to vehicles exiting Lakeshore Drive.

ITD said the new traffic pattern was planned around safety, not convenience. The agency said the goal is to reduce crashes, near misses, backups and congestion south of the Long Bridge, where traffic routinely stacks up as vehicles leave the bridge and funnel through the intersection. ITD District Engineer Ryan Hawkins said the change makes the intersection more predictable by removing the need for drivers to wait for gaps in traffic.

A raised concrete median will be installed later this summer to physically block the left turn. ITD said the median U-turn was built in 2023 specifically to support this shift, giving northbound drivers a way to turn around after leaving Lakeshore Drive instead of relying on a direct left across busy traffic. The agency said the longer-term design had always called for the restriction, but drivers were initially allowed to make the left turn when traffic gaps permitted.

ITD described the work as part of a nearly $9 million safety-improvement plan for the U.S. 95 corridor. That effort also included the Sagle Road signal and came after years of concern about crashes and near misses on one of North Idaho’s most heavily traveled chokepoints. ITD said earlier traffic studies on the Garwood-to-Long Bridge corridor were completed in 1999 and 2010.

For drivers, the immediate effect is a small but real delay. ITD said flagging on Lakeshore Drive was expected to begin around 9 p.m. and continue for several hours during overnight striping work. The agency also said the new pattern could add a short amount of travel time for some drivers.

ITD’s October 2024 public meeting on the Dufort Road-to-Lakeshore Drive project drew 336 in-person attendees, 89 in-person comment sheets, 2,137 online views and 135 online comment sheets. The agency mailed postcards to about 14,500 homes and businesses in the project area and said it heard from local jurisdictions, emergency responders, businesses, trucking companies, utilities and other community groups as it finalized the plan.