Topics
North Spokane Corridor
Summary
The first leg of the long-sought North Spokane freeway opened in August 2009 and provides partial achievement of a high-speed, non-stop link from Interstate 90 to the edge of the Spokane urban area, a distance of 10.5 miles. The northern half of the project from Francis Avenue to Wandermere Road on U.S. Highway 395 is scheduled to open in 2011. It will complement the two-lane section opened in 2009, and will have interchange access for the two major North Side highways – U.S. 2 and 395.
Nearly $570 million has been committed to planning, right-of-way and construction so far. That includes a $35 million federal economic stimulus grant awarded in 2010. DOT estimates it will need another $1.6 billion to finish the freeway from Francis to I-90 and could spend another 20 years on the job. By then, the total cost could swell to $3 billion.
As early as 1946, state officials called for building a companion roadway adjacent to Division Street to improve North Side traffic flow. The push for a freeway accelerated in the 1960s and ‘70s, but a route through the Logan and Lidgerwood neighborhoods ran into opposition and stalled.
Selection of the current route on the east side of Hillyard occurred after BNSF Railway closed its facilities there in the 1980s, leaving behind large hunks of little-used property. Opposition to the current project has largely been limited to residents in the path of the freeway and a handful of activists.
Proponents see the freeway as means to increase efficiency of the region’s roads, allowing freight and general traffic to move through the area more quickly and creating jobs and economic growth in the process.
Summary written by staff writer Mike Prager
More information
Washington Department of Transportation
Latest updates in this topic
Corridor funding may hit dead end
As the northern half of the north Spokane freeway nears completion, state transportation officials say there is no clear route to financing the hugely expensive southern half. Nearly $600 million …
Support for road and transit fixes wanes at wallet
Transportation projects enjoy wide public support in Spokane, but that support drops when people are asked if they would pay specific taxes for them. A survey of 353 respondents in …
House, Senate panels close on transportation budget
OLYMPIA – The two legislative committees trying to decide how to spend nearly $9 billion on transportation over the next two years “largely agree” on how to spend it, Sen. …
House panel won’t put gas tax hike on ballot this year
OLYMPIA – Washington voters will not be asked to raise gas taxes or any other tax related to roads this fall. 2012, however, could be different. As they announced the …
Steam system cures concrete faster, saves company money
A Spokane Valley company that plays a key role in building highways across the Western U.S. has found a way to save significant amounts of energy at its manufacturing plant. …
Open houses to address projects planned for Grand, Mission
The seventh year of Spokane’s street reconstruction program is kicking off this week with the first of two open houses on work planned for the year. Residents living near Grand …
Old rail cars become fire and rescue training tool
Kootenai County Fire and Rescue in Post Falls is upgrading its training facility with the help of the railroad. On Sunday, a construction contractor and the fire department moved two …
Extreme November weather has historic company
Getting There today is devoted to not getting there. The last two weeks have been among the worst that winter has thrown at the Inland Northwest in the past century, …
Ziggy’s celebrates store’s 45-year run
Vern Ziegler was all smiles as he greeted old friends, mingled with longtime customers and talked about Ziggy’s beginnings at the Market Street store in Hillyard. The flagship home improvement …
Ziggy’s closing Hillyard store to make way for corridor
Vern Ziegler was all smiles as he greeted old friends, mingled with long-time customers and talked about Ziggy’s beginnings at the Market Street store in Hillyard.
Transit game allows public to test budgeting priorities
People who want to comment on the future of transportation in Spokane have the option of playing a new online game to make their views known. Should Spokane push for …
Getting There: Corridor bridge girders installed
Construction of the North Spokane Corridor took a big jump forward in recent days with the installation of bridge girders at the future Wandermere interchange at U.S. Highway 395. The …
Sixth District donnybrook
He’s the incumbent. He’s his party’s whip in the state Senate. He has more campaign money and a diverse list of backers that includes unions and large businesses. But in …
Federal funds advance North Side corridor
As leaders gathered Tuesday to celebrate the start of a phase of North Spokane Corridor construction paid for by the 2009 federal stimulus package, state officials said they will be …
More buildings in freeway’s path set for removal
While construction work continues on the North Spokane Corridor north of Francis Avenue, more vacant homes will be torn down this fall in central Spokane to make room for freeway …
Theft interrupts cable service
The theft early Thursday of fiber-optic cable lines left between 5,000 and 7,000 Comcast customers in northeast Spokane without television, high-speed Internet and phone services. Comcast crews restored services in …
Spokane business owner in freeway’s path sues state
A 67-year-old business owner is suing the state, saying its unwillingness to buy his company – which is in the path of the north Spokane freeway – is forcing him …
U.S. 2 drivers face North Side changes
Motorists on U.S. Highway 2 northeast of Farwell Road are going to find big changes this weekend. Southbound lanes will be closed through Sunday evening so that the contractor on …
Freeway roadwork may cause backups in north Spokane
Motorists on U.S. 2 northeast of Farwell Road are going to find big changes this weekend. Southbound lanes will be closed Friday through Sunday evening so that the contractor on …
Open house set on freeway update
The first of two meetings to update the community on progress on the north Spokane freeway will be today from 5 to 8 p.m. at the East Central Community Center, …
Money is major roadblock for final leg of freeway
Exit 282 of Interstate 90 sits as a monument to the stops and starts of building a north Spokane freeway. Engineers designed the massive Hamilton ramps to be the start …
Freeway redraws housing footprint
With decades of studies, draft reports, public meetings and money shortfalls, Spokane’s north-south freeway has remained more of a concept than a road. Even the portion of the freeway that …
North Spokane Corridor interactive timeline
An interactive timeline about the North Spokane Corridor project.
Creek at risk, complaint alleges
On multiple occasions last year, untreated storm water from a north Spokane freeway construction site illegally spilled into Deadman Creek, a stream that flows into the Little Spokane River. The …
Center alleges freeway project is violating Clean Water Act
The Center for Justice’s Spokane Riverkeeper project is alleging that the state Department of Transportation has violated the Clean Water Act during construction of the North Spokane freeway.
Corridor ceremony highlights grant, and the politics behind it
One person was noticeably absent from last week’s gathering to celebrate the announcement of a $35 million federal stimulus grant for the North Spokane Corridor. U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, …
Stimulus to spur work on corridor
Spokane’s long-sought North Side freeway got a boost on Wednesday with the announcement of a $35 million federal economic stimulus grant to pay for a 3.7-mile extension of the southbound …
$35 million grant to extend North Spokane freeway
A $35 million federal stimulus grant was announced this morning to extend work on a North Spokane freeway, according to the office of U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.
Next phase of freeway work is a real blast
Short-term closures of U.S. Highway 395 near the Little Spokane River will occur over the next several weeks as construction workers set off explosives to excavate the site of an …
Freeway detour forced to detour
The construction of the north Spokane freeway isn’t occurring without some risk to public safety, which was demonstrated in a little-noticed event in the work zone last week. As part …
Freeway leg isn’t a big time-saver yet
The north Spokane freeway may be a nice quiet stretch of concrete to drive, but it isn’t saving anyone much time. Traffic has been sparse on the 3.7-mile section since …
Lure of the open road
A completed north Spokane freeway – sought for more than a half-century – would bring economic growth to the region as much as it would speed traffic across the city, …