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September 28, 2010 in City
Monroe and Lincoln closed at Second Avenue
Paving work to shut streets until late afternoon; Walnut and Maple closed at Second on Thursday
Pat Rairdan checks her sign before letting cars through the road construction at Second Avenue and Monroe Street on Monday.
(Full-size photo)
Congestion in downtown Spokane is likely to get a little worse today and Thursday with the closure of major intersections for paving work on West Second Avenue.
Monroe and Lincoln streets at Second will be closed today until late afternoon while a construction crew lays down a base layer of asphalt as part of the reconstruction of Second.
On Thursday, Walnut and Maple streets will be closed until late afternoon for paving.
Second will be closed from Howard to Jefferson streets today until late afternoon, and from Jefferson to Sunset Boulevard on Thursday, again until late afternoon.
Second has been limited to one lane of traffic for weeks. The project began Aug. 2.
On Friday, crews will continue paving work, but Second and its major intersections will be open, said Ann Deasy, city spokeswoman.
During the closures, the city recommends that motorists use Washington, Stevens, Division and Browne streets for north-south traffic.
East-west traffic should go to Boone, First or Third avenues, the city said.
Boone is being recommended to keep drivers away from any potential traffic tie-ups downtown.
“I would suggest avoiding the downtown area entirely,” Deasy said.
In addition, residents in the Browne’s Addition neighborhood have complained that drivers are using residential streets there to avoid the construction and congestion on Second at Walnut and Maple streets.
Deasy said motorists cutting through the neighborhood need to be careful because of the high number of pedestrians.
“We want citizens to be safe,” she said.
Completion of the project is expected in early to mid-November. Additional closures may occur later this fall.
At $2.1 million, the project involves reconstruction of Second and installation of a new 12-inch water main as well as new catch basins.
The street work is being financed by a 2004 voter-approved bond measure, which has financed major work throughout the city in recent years, including work this year on Nevada Street, 37th Avenue, Wellesley Avenue, Northwest Boulevard and Lincoln Street.
MLK Jr. Way opens Thursday 
spokanecougar on September 28 at 11:56 a.m.
Said this in another article, but once again Spokane showing its true Stupidity by doing this in the middle of the day. Real cities actually do there road work at night so people can still get where they need to during the day with minimal disruptions.
Also, don’t tell me that the DOT workers wont work at night, if they say that then hire some who will, last I checked we still have a high unemployment rate and I am sure some of these people looking for a job would have no problem working at night building a road for a decent wage.
born2brew on September 28 at 1:40 p.m.
I believe downtown businesses would tend to disagree with Anne Deasy about avoiding the area entirely. There are several alternative routes that will bring you into the downtown area safely and without a ton of fuss. It might be worthwhile for a city spokewoman to become more familiar with the city she is speaking of.
Teseract on September 28 at 4:00 p.m.
My favorite part of the 2nd Ave job so far is watching the workers at Howard and 2nd pour concrete over a large bundle of conduit, bury it, then come back two days later and have to dig it back up, jackhammer the new concrete off the conduit, and work on it for two days before pouring concrete on it again and re-burying it.
At one point I saw a truck for a firm specialized in finding underground wires/pipes/etc, so someone must have screwed up big time. I wonder how much that cost the city? It cost a full week of work not to mention the concrete and the specialist consultant costs.