BNSF 2nd Main Between Coke and W Algoma, ID
Author: Bruce Kelly
Date: 06-24-2018 - 06:42
Tree removal and grading are currently under way between Cocolalla and West Algoma, Idaho. This roughly two-mile stretch is one of three single-track gaps left on BNSF's Spokane-Sandpoint Funnel. Work is taking place between the existing main and U.S. Hwy 95, which probably explains why this project has so far escaped coverage in the local press. Had the grade work taken place between the existing main and the shoreline of Lake Cocolalla, there would have been all manner of EIS, permitting, and public scrutiny involved. So far, they've managed to carve a new grade around the outside of that tight curve at the NE end of the lake without encroaching on the highway.