Boundary County Road & Bridge

The Boundary County Road and Bridge Department maintains 340 miles of public roadway in Boundary County. Of this, 122 miles are hard surfaced (paved) and the remainder is graveled. By comparison, there are 78 miles of road maintained by the Idaho Department of Transportation, including U.S. 95, Highway 1 and U.S. 2.

Our maintenance equipment travels up to forty miles on state highways per round trip to access many segments of our county road system. Sand trucks often travel over 200 state highway miles per day to service county roads for winter maintenance. Each time our graders go oust to do routine maintenance, they are each faced with approximately 45 miles of road to cut and refill and must make an average of six passes to complete the work, traveling over 300 miles at very low speed. Optimal grading conditions are during the drying period after a rainfall, when the new surface can be compacted. Grading during dry or wet periods usually results in repairs with a short life expectancy, just one of many of the challenges faced by the department in maintaining a large are with limited resources.

Fortunately, the Boundary County road maintenance program is funded by a combination of State Highway user funds and National Forest funds paid in lieu of property taxes, easing the burden on the local taxpayer. The employees of the road and bridge department work for much less than they would if they worked in the private sector, here or elsewhere. Their choice in working for the county is usually based on the desire for steady work close to home and the benefits provided by the county.

The net result is a competent road maintenance team at a bargain-basement price to the taxpayers of Boundary County.