Bay Trail Closures

The City of Ponderay is excited to announce that construction will begin for the Panhandle Smelting and Refining Company site, commonly known as Black Rock, on April 7, 2026. While the historic smelter only operated sporadically between 1907 and 1909 it left a lasting impact on the community in the form of heavy metal contamination (primarily lead) throughout the site.

This brownfield clean-up project is the first phase of the city’s Front Yard Project. It will address the onsite contamination and will leave the site in the initial phase of a community park that will eventually tie into the proposed future underpass in Ponderay. Some of the improvements in this phase include internal walking trails, historical signage and breakwater extension of the bay trail past Black Rock. During construction it is necessary to remove all of the vegetation from the site. It will be revegetated and the end of the project with native plants and grasses including the beautiful lupines that bloom each spring.

This project is necessary for the health and safety of the community, but it will require some closures of the Pend d’ Oreille Bay Trail for the safety of the trail users. In an effort to avoid impacting the trail with this project we explored all other potential options to access the site including methods such as a temporary construction crossing over the railroad tracks near the site and barging material and equipment to the site, but in the end the bay trail was the only feasible access option.  Ponderay is committed to minimizing the impact to the trail users during construction wherever possible and at the conclusion of the project the trail will be left with some improvements such as fresh layer of gravel on the trail.

Construction is anticipated to occur from April 7th through the month of August.

An anticipated closure schedule is available below and will be updated weekly to include known closures for the following week. As with anything, unforeseen changes occur. We will do our best to get the word out so be sure to watch Ponderay’s Facebook.

We thank you in advance for your patience as we complete this project and create a safe and more usable asset for the community.