IDAHO, USA — Highway 55 is delayed for some travelers, but for one family, a delay to a destination is the least of their worries.
A partially dead tree near milepost 77 snapped in a windstorm killing McCall 8th grader Coltin Jones on June 7th, according to Boise County Sheriff Scott Turner.
"The car was in motion when the treetop struck the passenger side front area of the vehicle," Turner wrote KTVB in an email.
ITD's partnership with the forest service annually targets specific stretches of road to remove dangerous trees. The plan to remove these trees along HWY 55 was scheduled before June 7th; the forest service has known these trees pose a threat for some time now.
"I've noticed it over the last several years. You see more and more of it," U.S Forrest Service District Ranger John Wallace told KTVB's Brian Holmes on August 2022. "It is odd it's not everywhere. I have driven up to Sandpoint and I have seen it all the way up to Sandpoint in Isolated locations. It is odd that it is happening and where it is happening."
Wallace added the dead trees on Highway 55 could remain stable for a year.
"So, this was something that was in the works previously," Idaho Transportation Department Communication Manager John Tomlinson said. "Early as June of last year. Then in November, we were talking with the forest service about going up there and clearing trees along 55."
ITD did not start a clearing project through the winter months due to a focus on winter road maintenance; that priority can last through April, according to Tomlinson.
The frequency of dead trees can be blamed on a myriad of reasons including drought, car exhaust, and road maintenance, Wallace told KTVB in 2022. Wallace named drought as the top culprit.
"We have not found evidence that salt is the main contributing factor of any trees that may be dying," Tomlinson said. "We try to use the least amount of salt on those roads to make them safe."
For the last two winters, ITD has used a different produce to maintain roads that contains one-third less salt than the previous product.
Highway 55 travelers between Horseshoe Bend and Banks can expect routine delays for the coming weeks between milepost 72 and 79, according to Tomlinson.
"If you're going up there Monday through Thursday, you can expect up to a 30-minute delay," Tomlinson said. "We don't identify the trees that are dead or need to be removed. It's that partnership that we have [with the United States Forrest Service]."
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