Trees Cleared from Right of Way on Highway 95
Drivers using the recently re-opened section of Highway 95 between Council and the Mill at Tamarack may have noticed a large number of trees cut down in the highway right of way.
According to Eric Copeland, with the Idaho Department of Transportation District Three, ITD had a contract to have leaning or dangerous trees cut down in the future, but the logging company they contracted with was able to cut down the trees during the road closure.
“Our number one priority is public safety,” he said.
And while he said that some people will be glad the hazardous trees have been cut, others will think the beauty of the roadway has been compromised, but he said they just cannot make all the people happy and he reiterated that public safety is the priority.
ITD removed 1,001 hazard trees near the landslide area—trees that posed a potential risk to the traveling public. The highway closure in place to repair the landslide provided a rare opportunity to safely address those risks without the need for future closure. Anyone who is considering stopping to gather firewood should use extreme caution and understand that they do so at their own risk.
According to ITD spokesperson Sophia Miraglio, ITD will spend about four to five days completing re-vegetation on the slope and plant a mix of native grasses and trees to help stabilize the area depending on availability.
