It must be spring, because road work is starting in Spokane Valley. Yesterday I drove down Pines Road and stormwater improvement work has begun near Alki. Yesterday crews were working in the southbound lanes and traffic was down to one lane. After the work is complete, the giant puddle that forms in the northbound lanes whenever it rains should be a thing of the past.

Work is starting today on the Sullivan Road corridor between Sprague Ave. and I-90 and on Sprague between Sullivan and Evergreen Road. Crews will be working to install traffic management cameras and link the traffic signals together. The westbound Sprague curb lane and the northbound Sullivan curb lane are closed, so there may be more congestion than usual. The project is expect to last through mid-May and access to businesses will remain open.

Take a look at this picture showing Pines Road (facing south) just north of what is now Sprague Ave. in 1908. You can click here to see a picture of the same view today taken by SR photographer Jesse Tinsley as part of his weekly Then and Now feature. What a difference 95 years makes.

This is just a reminder that the center lanes of Pines Road will be closed Wednesday between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. for work on the Union Pacific Railroad tracks near Montgomery Drive. The southbound curb lane on Pines Road is also tentatively planned for a shutdown Saturday through Monday. That's the intersection with the I-90 on and off ramps, so you might want to find another route for the day. 

Pines Road will be down to a single lane of traffic between 16th and 24th during a sidewalk infill project that is expected to start today or Tuesday. Flaggers will be there to direct traffic through the work zone, but it would probably be faster to find another route. Pedestrians will be allowed on the west side of the street only. The project is expected to last six weeks.

The city of Spokane Valley will host a community meeting tonight on a plan to add sidewalks, curbs, bike lanes and storm drain improvements on Pines Road between 16th Avenue and 23rd Avenue. The meeting will be held from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at South Pines Elementary, 12021 E. 24th. The city also needs input from nearby property owners who have fencing and/or landscaping in the public right of way. Call the city at 720-5411 for more information on the project. 

The Washington State Patrol says a Union Pacific train is blocking Pines Road at Indiana. The train has a broken brake line and there is no estimate as to when the train will be fixed and moved. The road is completely blocked, so plan on taking another north-south route.

Update: WSP advises the train is now clear.

Police and fire crews are responding to an accident at Pines and Main that is reportedly blocking the road. Take a detour around that area for now.