On the heals of previously the largest highway construction project in Idaho, Nelson Construction, once again teaming up with McAlvain Construction, bid and won the now largest construction project in Idaho, the construction of the Flying Wye. At 50 million dollars this 21-month project will reconstruct Boise’s most highly traveled interstate connection. This project involves demolition of existing structures, construction of a new multilevel structures and highway realignment. The intended construction will proceed nearly 24 hrs a day 7 days a week under constant traffic flow.

Regina to Cleft between Mountain Home and Boise was a concurrent project to the construction of the Flying Wye.  This was an thirteen mile 10 million dollar project totally reconstructing the west bound lanes.  This rebuild instituted Asphalt Treated Permeable Leveling Course (A.T.P.L.C.) derived from  the Superpave specification topped with concrete paving.  The total roadway section included:  Cracking and seating of existing concrete roadway, 1 ft Rock cap, 12" of A.T.P.L.C. and 1.3 ft of Concrete paving.  All the aggregates were blasted, crushed and made at a nearby commercial source solely for this project.

Juniper Rest Area on the Utah Idaho border was another concurrent project to the construction of the Flying Wye. This was a seven mile strip of highway reconstruction as well as construction of two off highway rest areas. This 10 million dollar project included asphalt pulverizing, full length edge drains, 5 lifts of paving equaling 200,000 US tons of plantmix asphalt, rest area demolition and reconstruction and lined sewer lagoon construction. This entire project was completed in one short Idaho season.

Other projects in year 2000 included:

I-84 and Cole/Overland Interchange Nov. 1996: WINNER OF THE NATIONAL MERIT AWARD IN WASHINGTON D.C. This job was a two-year project for the State of Idaho, the largest single highway project ever let by the state. With a value of nearly 40 million dollars this job demanded expertise within many facets of highway construction: Large Diameter Deep Pipe Installation, 800,000 cy Mass Excavation, Interstate Reroute, Grading & Paving, Bridge Excavation, Embankment and Construction.

Micron Technology 10 years: For more than 10 years Nelson Construction has been an active participant in the rapid expansion of one of the nation’s most highly productive high tech. companies. Micron Technology, born from a small group of talent and ideas, has blossomed into one of the world’s major producers of computer chips. Nelson Construction was first in line to break ground for Micron and is still actively participating today. Responsibilities: Foundation Construction for/around Vibration Free Buildings, Underground Installation, Rock Ex., Demolition., Site Excavation, Paving & Grading.

Snake River Correctional Institution Fall 95-Spring 97: A prison expansion project for the State of Oregon managed by Hoffman Construction. Working in and around a prison presents many different challenges. Nelson Construction began by laying the groundwork for a successful operation encompassing a broad range of construction and cooperation involving hundreds of different building trades and crafts.

Bogus Basin Ski Resort, Boise ID: This project was a  major expansion of the local Boise area ski resort. For Nelson Construction the scope of responsibilities included mass excavation of 80,000 cy and a re-contouring of existing ski runs. Excavation was performed on the steep rocky slopes of non-pioneered hillsides as well as on existing ski runs. The embankment of excavated material was used to create building lots and a plaza area for future lodge expansion. Additional construction included an engineered fill and expansion of the existing parking lot, 48" concrete storm drainpipe installation and wetland re-mediation.

State Highways 95, 55 & 17 Emergency Flood Repair. Late 1996 and early 1997 were some of the biggest rain years in the State of Idaho for nearly 50 years. The winter’s abnormally high snow pack combined with a deluge of rain in January and March brought mountain sides down on many of Idaho’s roads and rivers. Virtually overnight Nelson Construction mobilized crews and equipment into flood ravaged areas. Excavators with thumbs picked and placed rip rap into the roaring Little Salmon and Payette rivers while dozers, loaders, backhoes and trucks cleared and repaired clogged and washed out roads. Work was done on double shifts both day and night. Because of the cold temperatures the heavy equipment was nearly never shut down

Boise Airport 28R runway extension. This was our fifth major project done for this airport over the last few years. In the past, Nelson Construction has built taxiways and aircraft parking areas. Projects included engineered excavation and embankment, pipe installation and aircraft rated paving. For this project we extended the airport’s shortest runway to accommodate its expanding needs for modern aircraft. Responsibilities included: engineered excavation and embankment, piping, landing rated asphalt paving and porous friction course paving.

Early in 1997 Nelson Construction performed two jobs with Cement Recycled Asphalt Base Stabilization C.R.A.B.S. Melba Junction to Deer Flat Rd. and New Meadows South were a few of the first projects in Idaho to use this technology. These projects specifically required that the contractor use specialized equipment to first reclaim, grind and mix, existing asphalt roads. This reclaimed asphalt was then mixed with Portland Cement and water and used as the road base for new hot asphalt paving. This process allowed effective recycling of existing road materials to help build new and better roadways for the future at a significant savings to the state, county or federal government. Nelson Construction modified and adapted our fleet of equipment to specifically create a permanent C.R.A.B.S. operation for the future.

Gregory Ranch in Bellevue Idaho was an interesting and fun project of creating a competition level water ski lake. Set in a beautiful meadow with views of Galena Summit and Bald Mountain this private 20 acre ski lake was constructed in 60 days on time and ready to use. The soils of Blaine County traditionally known for their granular nature are not ideal for lake construction above normal water table levels. Consequently this lake was constructed with simple on site material, a slight addition of imported clay and a special ESS13 soil stabilization compound allowing construction of a water tight lake bottom without the use of traditional plastic or bentonite liners. Competition levels demand tight tolerances for perfect functionality. Working in the late fall at an elevation over a mile high this project was completed without delay and within budget.

Boise Flood Control Phase 2 was a 75-day job located in the foothills overlooking the Boise valley. Nelson Construction was contracted by joint governmental agencies to construct two flood control ponds an earth fill dam and all supporting control structures. This job had particular challenges because of its location in an environmentally sensitive area used daily by many local residents. Many historic trees, wetlands and native grasses were all to be spared, re-contoured and enhanced. Our combination of 4-wheel drive rock trucks, excavators, graders and finish dozers made this project particularly viable.

Federal Way Business Park is a commercial subdivision wholly built by Nelson Construction. This project consisting of the usual excavation, roads, utilities and concrete also required many different facets of heavy construction not common to most subdivision developments. Sewer pipe installation, reaching depths of over 35 feet deep is extraordinarily difficult and requires special techniques to be constructed efficiently and safely. In addition, Nelson Construction is currently building a two lane prestressed double peered bridge spanning the New York canal. This access will be the supply line for the majority of the anticipated industrial and heavy truck traffic slated for this development.

Other projects for the year of 1997:

Hidden Springs Community is an ambitious residential development 15 minutes north of downtown Boise. For Nelson Construction this project entailed movement of over 1,000,000 cubic yards of hillside soil through the winter months of November to March. Hillside developments require deliberate and careful progression to insure cost effective construction. Grade and tolerance specifications are tough as well, requiring that construction fall within plus or minus 1 tenth of an inch. This project required that Nelson Construction move better than 16,000 cubic yards a day maintaining grade control and embankment tolerances.

Runway 10L was Nelson Construction’s fifth straight year performing airport construction. This project was also the largest paving job ever built by Nelson Construction. At an estimated 170,000 tons of asphalt paving this job required a normal years paving to be completed in just 4 months. In addition, the entire runway surface was milled, centerline lit and widened. Due to the strict nature of airport specifications and time schedules this project demanded persistent concentration and commitment. The heart of this project, managed by Isbill and Associates, modernized Boise’s only airport into a destination worthy of today’s technology driven aircraft and landing systems.

Federal Way from Vista to Overland also started early in 1998. This main commuter thoroughfare was a traffic snafu and was a classic bread and butter project for road construction companies: Road demolition, reconstruction, paving and 20,000 square feet of mechanically stabilized earth retaining walls.

Hill City to Fairfield on US-20 was 40,000 tons of high elevation paving approximately two hours outside of Boise.

Idaho State Correctional Institution further started expansion in 1998 creating an entirely new and privately run prison facility. This project was a design/build contract, partnered with Morrison Knudsen and Yanke Mechanical Co. Nelson Construction was integral in design as well as pricing and construction. This project required mass earthmoving, pipe installation and rock blasting to create a foundation for the new facility. In addition, over 25 acres of HDPE lined sewage treatment ponds including chlorination chamber and support structures was also constructed.

Aikman dam construction on Willow Creek is a 70-ft. tall earthfill dam constructed in Eagle Idaho. This dam mostly constructed during the winter months of 1998 will be completed spring of 1999. This structure includes complete under dam piping for water level management as well as under drains for hydraulic relief. When completed this dam will reservoir thousands of acre-feet of water to be used for farm irrigation.

Last modified: September 26, 2001