Project History

Completed by The Army Corps of Engineers in 1981, the Southway Bridge is co-owned by the city of Clarkston and Asotin County, Washington and the city of Lewiston and Nez Perce County, Idaho.

On the Idaho side, Southway Bridge becomes Bryden Canyon Road and forms an interchange with Snake River Avenue.

In Washington, the Southway Bridge becomes Fleshman Way and immediately forms an interchange with SR 129. The north-south SR 129 route is the primary connection to the Lewis-Clark Valley for Asotin, Anatone and farther south, the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area.

Asotin County initiated engineering for Fleshman Way in 1992. With the Bryden Canyon Road in Lewiston, the corridor now provides Asotin County with access to the Snake River recreation areas, SR 129, Lewiston, the Lewiston Orchards area, and the Lewiston-Nez Perce County Regional Airport.

Input originally received during the Fleshman Way project revealed public concern about the safety of the existing interchange with SR 129. Recent traffic counts estimate 25,000 vehicles use the interchange daily with approximately 60 percent of those crossing the state line. It has been identified as a major bottleneck in the Fleshman Way – Southway Bridge – Bryden Canyon Road bi-state system.

 In 1994, Asotin County obtained funds from the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) to study alternatives to improve the operation of the interchange. Subsequently in December 1995, a report was published that identified issues, evaluating various alternatives, and recommending interchange improvements.

After multiple attempts to secure funding for these improvements, Asotin County received an earmark to initiate preliminary engineering in 2006, as part of the SAFETEA-LU package. The previous year, the County received funding from WSDOT and the Palouse Regional Transportation Planning Organization to update the 10-year old study and facilitate new efforts to find funding for these improvements. This funding partnership acknowledges that this transportation challenge is significant to both the region and the state.

In January 2005 Asotin County retained the consulting firm Thomas, Dean & Hoskins, Inc. (TH&H) to complete an alternatives analysis for the interchange. That study resulted in Asotin County Commissioners endorsement of two new alternatives that would remove or limit cross-turning movement, as viable solutions for improving the operations of the interchange.

Two years later, J-U-B ENGINEERS, INC. has been hired to expand on the results generated from the TD&H Study, and lead the project through preliminary and final design.