Commissioners Put Brakes On Freeway Vote But Hasson Says Resolution Opposing North-South Project Isn’t Going Away

Spokane city officials and business leaders breathed a temporary sigh of relief Tuesday when county commissioners tabled a vote on whether to oppose a north-south freeway through Spokane.

Opposition from the commissioners could kill the project, which was proposed 50 years ago and has been revived several times since. Boosters say that without an unwavering show of support, Spokane may not get the money to start the freeway.

“Certainly, all the players need to be on the same page or it simply gives the Legislature … an excuse for not helping solve the problem” of traffic congestion, said Ed Sharman, Spokane spokesman for the American Automobile Association.

A proposed resolution, written by county engineer Bill Johns, urges the state to consider alternatives, “such as beltways and arterial improvements, which will be more efficient, affordable and less harmful to the region’s environment.”

It questions whether the state can afford the project, which would cost $2 billion, take 20 years to build and displace 400 homes.

Commissioners said Johns placed the resolution on Tuesday’s agenda without their knowledge. But they did not criticize him for doing so.

Commissioner Steve Hasson said the resolution isn’t dead, just postponed until commissioners can give it more consideration and a public hearing.

If Johns is right about his fears, Hasson said, then political leaders who want to forge ahead with the project are misleading the public and misusing tax money.

“Bill, in a sense, is being a whistleblower,” Hasson said. “He’s saying I think there’s wrongdoing here when you take money for a project that isn’t going to be built.”

But officials for the city of Spokane and the state Department of Transportation say the freeway is closer than ever to being built.

The state recently completed a $2 million environmental impact statement, naming a corridor near Hillyard as the best spot for a freeway from Interstate 90 to U.S. Highway 395 north of the North Division Y.

Although the size of the project is daunting, “Interstate 90 (through Spokane) took 17 years, so it’s not outside the realm of possibility,” said Al Gilson, spokesman for the state Department of Transportation.

Some money from the gasoline tax is earmarked for the project and two others in Western Washington. If Spokane doesn’t use that money, it will be funneled elsewhere in the state, said Gilson and others.

City officials heard about the resolution Monday night. Councilman Mike Brewer was among those who responded angrily, saying commissioners “were just going off half-cocked.”

Commissioner John Roskelley said Brewer and others were wrong to jump to the conclusion commissioners would act on the resolution just because it was on the agenda.

Roskelley and Commissioner Phil Harris, who are the county’s representatives on the Spokane Regional Transportation Council, raised concerns about the freeway last week at a board meeting.

Both voted to add the freeway to the region’s wish list of road projects after state transportation officials assured them it could be built in small segments as money becomes available.

Roskelly said Tuesday he remains supportive of - if not enthusiastic about - the freeway. He thinks it’s too far east to solve North Side traffic problems.

Harris is more insistent there are better alternatives.

“I just think a beltway (around the city) is a much better idea,” than a freeway that runs through town.

, DataTimes