Shoshone County commissioners approved impasse letters last week after negotiations over property rights stalled for the Terror Gulch Bridge and Two-Mile Bridge projects.
The disputes put funding for both projects at risk. The work is financed through Idaho’s Leading Idaho bridge program, and both projects have been in development for several years.
The Terror Gulch Bridge, near Osburn, crosses the South Fork Coeur d’Alene River. It has reached the end of its service life and provides the only maintained access to more than 100 homes in Terror Gulch and Sunny Slopes.
The Two-Mile Bridge serves Two-Mile Gulch and Nuchols Gulch. The properties involved in the negotiations are north of the South Fork Coeur d’Alene River.
Representatives of the Local Highway Technical Assistance Council, or LHTAC, were unable to reach agreements with Forrest and Alice Van Dorn and Bryan Williford.
The Terror Gulch design was changed after Williford raised concerns about the project’s size and scope. The redesign reduced the affected area from approximately 1,200 square feet to 88 square feet. Williford identified an offer of $1,800 for the revised property area.
Williford disputed LHTAC’s description of the negotiations, saying the revised alignment could create setback and regulatory problems affecting future development. He also described the property’s importance to his family, saying, “I’m a single father of three, I’ll probably never be able to buy property like this ever again.”
County officials could pursue the needed property rights through condemnation if negotiations do not produce agreements. That process would require an eminent domain action in district court, where property owners could challenge the county’s valuation and present evidence about compensation.
A lengthy condemnation case could delay construction and jeopardize the bridge program funding. Scott Wood said, “We’re ready to go to construction.”