Spokane County, EVSD discuss 2020 Sullivan Road project

Representatives from Spokane County and the East Valley School District met recently to make sure everyone was in agreement about a road project slated to go through district property.

The project, which is slated for 2020, will extend Sullivan Road from Wellesley Avenue to Forker Road. It’s part of an ongoing effort to improve the Bigelow Gulch/Forker Road corridor.

The Sullivan Road extension will cut through practice fields and ball fields between East Valley’s middle school and high school.

“This goes way back,” Assistant Superintendent of Operations Brian Aiken said of the project. The district has known the project could go through their land since 2001.

Assistant County Engineer Chad Coles said the county’s original discussions for the project began in 1998 and it has been moving forward in fits and starts since then. The project was divided into phases, starting at the intersection of Francis and Havana and moving east from there.

Coles said the entire Bigelow Gulch/Forker Road project will cost nearly $65 million, and is being funded through several state and federal grants. The road will be five lanes wide and include sidewalks.

Aiken said the county and the district have a long-standing mitigation agreement, which includes hiring a recreation architect to assist with the changes, as well as relocating fields and adding a pedestrian tunnel or bridge.

Athletic Director Joe Kostecka said the fields are in use often, especially during summer months with outside leagues.

“They use these fields seven days a week,” he said.