Critics question process for selection of U.S. 95 route through prairie.

The Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) is defending its controversial plan to build a four-lane highway next to one of the most endangered prairie ecosystems in North America, touting the route’s increased safety.

District 2 engineer Jim Carpenter said the new road will cut in half the number of accidents on U.S. Highway 95 south of Moscow.

“We did follow a thorough process through this,” he said.  “The department’s goal is to be sensitive to the environmentally sensitive areas.”

ITD has drawn criticism for its plan to re-route a curvy, two-lane stretch of Highway 95 over Paradise Ridge, a popular landmark south of Moscow.

Read more: ITD Officials Defend Palouse Plan

(By Benjamin Shors, staff writer, The Spokesman-Review, November 8, 2002)