BPA finishing up repair work

The Bonneville Power Administration is currently fixing the end of the Kootenai River Road near a parking lot and school bus turnaround, according to Kirk Robinson, BPA project manager for the Libby/Troy Rebuild Project.

BPA employees are repairing ruts in the road, which were made in spring 2006 when BPA employees were doing work in the area and the ground was soft, Robinson explained. They began fixing the road in fall 2006, "but got weathered out," Robinson said. Approximately five miles of road needed to be repaired on the north side of the river.

They have since acquired necessary permits and received a cultural resource clearing.

The crews also had to wait until Aug. 15 to finish the work, as there was an eagles nest in the area, Robinson said. The work is expected to be complete by the end of this week.

Thus far, crews have repaired approximately 4 1/2 miles of damaged road and 1/2 to 1 mile is left to repair, Robinson added. Between 6-8 crew members have been repairing the road with geotextile fabric and rock. In addition to the workers, a BPA inspector and a tribal monitor have been on the job site.

"This is our responsibility to fix this and we expect to be done this week," Robinson said.