A $200 million Interstate 90 widening project is now underway in Kootenai County just as two other multiyear freeway improvement projects with a total construction value of $108 million are nearing completion.

Work on the newer project began in August 2025 and will be completed in 2029, says Idaho Transportation Department project manager Shannon Stein. The project will widen five miles of I-90 between Idaho Route 41, in Post Falls, and U.S. 95, in Coeur d’Alene.

The project involves two construction contracts, Stein says. N.A. Degerstrom Inc., of Spokane Valley, was awarded a $60 million contract to construct improvements on two miles of freeway on the east end of the project, while Seattle-based Scarsella Bros. Inc. was awarded a $66.5 million contract to construct improvements on the west three miles of the project.

Including design, right-of-way, and construction costs, the widening project is estimated to cost between $200 million and $210 million, according to project information on the Idaho Transportation Department website.

The project will add two eastbound and westbound lanes for a total of four lanes in each direction.

Other improvements include replacing and widening bridges over Huetter Road, Atlas Road, and Prairie Trail while realigning and improving sections of Prairie and Centennial trails.

The project also will lengthen all ramps at the Northwest Boulevard interchange and the eastbound and westbound off-ramps at U.S. 95.

On the west end of that project, in Post Falls, the $78 million Interstate 90-Idaho Route 41 interchange reconstruction, which has been underway since 2022, likely will be completed in the fall, Stein says.

Scarsella Bros. is the contractor on that project, which will provide a single-point interchange where all ramps will converge at a traffic signal. Upgrades in the Post Falls project include bridge replacements and new bridges, realigning on- and off-ramps, and improvements to the Idaho Route 41 trail and Centennial Trail.

Northwest of Post Falls, near the city of Hauser, the $30 million Idaho Route 53-Pleasant View Road interchange, which has been under construction since October 2024, is expected to be completed this construction season or in spring 2027, Stein says.

Scarsella Bros. also is the contractor for the project, which includes construction of a diamond interchange, removal of access to state Route 53 from four side roads, the expansion of Pleasant View Road to two lanes in each direction through the interchange, and the widening of state Route 53 to two lanes in each direction through the project area.

—Mike McLean