"We know extending a closure is frustrating, but we believe it is the best way to keep traffic consistent for drivers and avoid having to close the ramp again in the future." That's Zach Feist, the Idaho Transportation Department's project manager, explaining why the westbound I-90 on-ramp at Northwest Boulevard didn't reopen at the end of September.
The ramp was scheduled to reopen Sept. 28. Crews then found problems with how the newly rebuilt ramp connects to the interstate, and ITD now expects it to reopen by Oct. 12, according to a city update. ITD considered a shorter-term fix but decided against it because it would have meant closing the ramp again later.
That decision explains the rest of October on the west side. The closures from the Post Falls line to US-95 are steps toward one event. Around Oct. 20, ITD plans to move both westbound lanes of I-90 to the south side of the freeway, next to eastbound traffic, and keep them there for a full year. The detours you learn this month will shape the drive until about fall 2027.
The October sequence, in order
ITD says the timing of each step depends on the one before it, so this schedule could change. As of today, Oct. 2, the dates are:
| Date | Change | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Fri., Oct. 2, 8 p.m., through about Oct. 9 | Eastbound I-90 on-ramp from SH-41 in Post Falls closes | Get on eastbound at Seltice Way, or take Seltice into Coeur d'Alene and get on at Northwest Boulevard |
| Around Oct. 12 | Westbound on-ramp at Northwest Boulevard is expected to reopen | Your usual westbound on-ramp at Northwest Boulevard comes back |
| Starting Oct. 12, about one week | Prairie Trail closes under I-90 for bridge demolition | No through route for walkers and cyclists at the freeway |
| Oct. 16 to 18 | I-90 paving between US-95 and Northwest Boulevard | One lane in each direction, day and night |
| Around Oct. 20 | Westbound lanes move to the south side of the freeway | Two lanes each way between concrete barriers for about a year |
| After the shift, up to two weeks | Huetter Road closes under I-90 | Use Mullan Avenue or Poleline/Hanley Avenue north of the freeway, or Seltice Way south of it |
| Late October, for several weeks | Overnight closures of the westbound SH-41 off-ramp | Affects late-night trips into Post Falls |
The Post Falls ramp closes first because the west end of the corridor has to be ready before the westbound lanes can cross over. ITD's project page says the SH-41 work is preparing for that shift. Huetter Road closes after the crossover for a similar reason. Once all traffic is on the south side, crews can tear down the old bridges above Huetter.
Why the Northwest Boulevard ramp matters most
The Northwest Boulevard on-ramp is the westbound entrance for downtown and the neighborhoods around it. While it stays closed, ITD and the Coeur d'Alene Press both recommend getting on westbound I-90 farther east, at Fourth Street, 15th Street or Sherman Avenue. US-95 by way of Appleway Avenue is the closest alternate. ITD has asked drivers who can use the eastern ramps to do so, so that Appleway doesn't take all the extra traffic. Drivers who get on at US-95 still have their own lane and don't have to merge with traffic already on the interstate.
Northwest Boulevard is busy for a second reason. Since Sept. 24, the right southbound lane near the 76 station has been closing at times so paving trucks can leave the I-90 work zone.
The current setup has some history. In August, the Press reported that the single westbound lane and the Northwest Boulevard off-ramp closure were put in place after crashes increased where merging traffic competed for space. With that layout, peak-hour congestion went up, but crashes and their severity went down. The crossover around Oct. 20 is meant to replace that layout with two lanes each way, kept open while crews build the new westbound lanes on the north side.
The year after Oct. 20
When the crossover happens, the five miles between SH-41 and US-95 will work differently for about 12 months. ITD lists these conditions:
- Two lanes in each direction with narrow shoulders and concrete barriers between them
- The westbound rest area closed to all traffic, commercial vehicles included
- The eastbound rest area still open
Work will usually happen Monday through Friday, both day and night, with some weekend shifts. Digital signs will change speed limits depending on work nearby, and ITD asks through traffic to keep left so vehicles entering can merge. Narrow shoulders and changing speed limits mean less room for error than a normal stretch of interstate. ITD's advice is to check Idaho 511 before you leave, and that will apply all year.
The crossover also changes the side streets. North of the freeway, Mullan Avenue and Poleline/Hanley Avenue are ITD's suggested routes during the Huetter Road closure, and Seltice Way covers the south side. Seltice also comes up in nearly every other detour this month. It's the eastbound alternate during the SH-41 ramp closure and part of the Centennial Trail detour. If you live south of I-90, expect more traffic on Seltice this fall.
The interstate isn't the only work underway. Separately from I-90, the city's Mill River Lift Station upgrade has kept Grand Mill Road down to one lane in each direction, and the city points drivers to Huetter Road as an alternate. That project was expected to run until about mid-November, according to an Aug. 10 city update. During the Huetter closure, that alternate won't go under the freeway. Check the city's site for a newer Mill River estimate before relying on either road.
On foot and by bike
Trail users have the same problem as drivers. For walkers and cyclists, the freeway crossings are the bottleneck.
The Centennial Trail is still closed between Northwest Boulevard and Atlas Road for the I-90 widening and city waterline work. The detour uses Riverstone Drive and the south side of Seltice Way. In June, the Press reported that phase of the closure would end in mid-July. That date has passed, and ITD's current project page still lists the trail as closed.
Prairie Trail closes under I-90 starting Oct. 12 for about a week while crews finish the next phase of demolition. ITD says trails along the corridor will keep having short-term closures as long as heavy equipment is working nearby. The Press story on the Prairie Trail closure doesn't give a replacement route. Before a weekend ride across the freeway, check ITD's project page, which has the detour maps in its Resources section.
What's left when the work is done
All of this is building toward a specific result. The five miles of I-90 between SH-41 and US-95 are the busiest and most congested in the corridor, and construction there began in August 2025. It's the first project to come out of ITD's I-90 Corridor Study, which runs from SH-41 to 15th Street.
The Spokane Journal of Business reported in March that the project's design, right-of-way and construction costs are estimated at $200 million to $210 million. Two contractors share the work. N.A. Degerstrom Inc. of Spokane Valley has a $60 million contract for the eastern two miles, and Scarsella Bros. Inc. of Seattle has a $66.5 million contract for the western three. When it's finished, the corridor will have:
- Four lanes in each direction, two more each way than today
- New, wider bridges over Huetter Road, Atlas Road and Prairie Trail
- Realigned and improved sections of the Prairie and Centennial trails
- Longer ramps at every part of the Northwest Boulevard interchange, plus longer eastbound and westbound off-ramps at US-95
ITD expects the project to continue through 2029. Most of the funding comes from the state's Transportation Expansion and Congestion Mitigation program under Governor Little's Leading Idaho initiative. ITD says that program lets it build projects years sooner than regular funding would allow.
Two of those three bridge sites, Huetter Road and Prairie Trail, are on this month's closure schedule, and new bridges at both are part of the finished project. The October closures there are the start of that rebuild. The Northwest Boulevard ramp delay followed the same reasoning, with ITD choosing a longer closure now so it wouldn't need another one later.
Every date above is a target, not a promise. ITD offers email and text alerts and the Idaho 511 app for the latest changes.
If you're planning a move, a listing or a showing on the west side during the next year of the crossover, it helps to know which on-ramp and side street work best on a given day. Darren Miller follows these changes closely and can help you work around them. Let's Connect.
