COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho — The Northwest Boulevard on-ramp to I-90 westbound is closed for the two weeks, and drivers no have to find a way around it. One detour is Appleway Avenue, adding around 12 minutes more before getting on the freeway again.
Besides Appleway, the Idaho Transportation Department recommends drivers use other westbound I-90 ramps like the ones on Sherman Avenue, 4th Street, or 15th Street. Others say they use backroads to access the freeway.
“You have to go all the way to Post Falls to find an on-ramp to get on the freeway to go to Spokane. It’s just totally ridiculous,” said Larry Pearcy, a local driver.
The closure is part of a larger I-90 expansion project expected to be completed in 2029. In about a month, all I-90 traffic will shift to the south side of the interstate while crews reconstruct the north side—that phase of the project is expected to take a year.
“This is the price to pay for that kind of growth. So it’s inevitable. And hopefully in the long run it makes things easier,” said Sherry Robertson, a local resident.
COPYRIGHT 2026 BY KXLY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.