After more than 25 years of planning and legal challenges, a new safer segment of U.S. Highway 95 south of Moscow is set to open to traffic.

The Idaho Transportation Department has announced that most of the new highway section will be accessible starting this afternoon. The northern five miles will open, while the southern mile will remain closed as construction on a bridge continues. The project is expected to be fully completed by the end of the year.

The safety improvement plans were initially introduced in 1999, with the aim of constructing a new four-lane segment of the highway that is wider, flatter, and straighter over Reisenauer Hill. This new segment replaces the previous two-lane section of US 95.

Construction was originally slated to begin around 20 years ago but faced delays due to legal actions from the Paradise Ridge Defense Coalition, a local environmental group that sought to protect the native Palouse prairie on the ridge. The Idaho Transportation Department ultimately prevailed in federal court, allowing work to commence on the new highway segment three years ago.

In 1999, the Moscow-Pullman Daily News reported that the project was estimated to cost approximately $17 million; however, the final cost to taxpayers has risen to $90 million over the course of the project.