In The Money State Planning To Spend Nearly $100 Million On Valley Roads

The state Department of Transportation plans to spend about $100 million to resurface, improve and build roads in the Valley over the next several years.

More than half of the money is marked to pay for 13 projects that could begin during the next two years.

Widening Interstate 90 between the Sprague Avenue and Argonne Road interchanges, improvements to the Pines Road interchange, construction of the Evergreen Road interchange and resurfacing a significant portion of Trent Avenue are among the major projects on the DOT’s list.

Planned Valley road work, both funded and unfunded, totals $99.65 million. The majority of the work is not yet funded.

First up on the list of projects is installation of a traffic signal at the intersection of Pines and 32nd Avenue, and improvements to the intersection of Sprague and Fancher Road. Both are scheduled to be finished this summer.

Installation of a regional transportation management system that monitors traffic flow, and improvements to the eastbound I-90 off-ramp at the Pines interchange and the intersection of Pines and Mission Avenue should follow this fall.

Construction of a new through lane and a merging lane eastbound from just east of Havana Street to the Broadway Avenue interchange gets under way in the fall of 1998.

That’s because money has been set aside to fund those five projects, which could cost as much as $16.45 million.

The remaining 10 projects have been identified as necessary, budgeted for the 1997-99 biennium and are awaiting legislative approval, said Al Gilson, DOT spokesman. DOT engineers are seeking $83.2 million to fund those projects.

Legislators are currently considering the DOT’s request for a little over $1 billion to fund projects statewide during the 1997-99 biennium.

“I would assume that all of (the Valley) projects would go, but you just never know,” Gilson said.

Improvements to three interchanges, and construction and resurfacing work on I-90 highlight the unfunded projects. Resurfacing work on Trent and Pines also is planned.

But funding for those projects is far from a sure thing, said Linda Tompkins, a Valley attorney who is chairwoman of the Washington Transportation Commission.

“Under the current legislation we will only be able to preserve and maintain the crumbling infrastructure,” Tompkins said.

If $2 million can be found to pay for it, left turn lanes will be added to the Pines overpass to ease traffic congestion that sometimes lines motorists up for several blocks during rush times.

Traffic engineers estimate that 1,500 cars per hour travel Pines between Mission and the interchange during afternoon peak times. One study predicts traffic volume will increase to 2,000 cars per hour when the Spokane Valley Mall opens this summer.

Work on the Pines turn lanes is tentatively planned for the fall of 1998, according to the DOT’s eastern region project development list.

Completion of construction on I-90 between Havana and Argonne, resurfacing the rutted stretch from Sprague to Pines, and building the Evergreen interchange also hinge on finances. Money to fund those three projects, which are projected to cost about $65 million, also has not been approved.

Preservation of existing roadways is the DOT’s top priority, Gilson said.

“If you let it fall apart, it’s more expensive to fix,” he said.

Several proposals the Legislature is considering to increase state transportation funding could help pay for the road work, but individually none provides the answer, Tompkins said.

Increasing the gas tax, levying a sales tax on gas, returning the motor vehicle excise tax to transportation coffers and exempting state road construction projects from paying sales tax are among the 10 proposed solutions being considered.

But none of the funding fixes would come without complications.

Improved fuel efficiencies in new vehicles are allowing motorists to drive farther on less gas each year, Tompkins said. Further, increasing the gas tax at a flat rate probably would not level it with population growth, she said. Combined, that means the 23 cents per gallon collected is not going as far as it has in the past.

Imposing a sales tax on gas would undoubtedly be met with resistance, Tompkins said. And, pumping motor vehicle excise tax money into transportation projects will pull money from other programs such taxes now fund.

“It’s always a complicated mix, but there’s got to be a solution,” Tompkins said.

Funding issues aside, the consensus remains improvements are necessary to maintain the Valley’s weakening infrastructure and handle the additional traffic projected population growth will bring during the next several year.

State engineers hope the projects they have identified will help meet those needs.

“It’s going to keep us from going further behind,” said Glenn Miles, manager for the Spokane Regional Transportation Council. “Certainly there’s a lot more to be done.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: ROAD WORK TIME LINE The following chronology lists work to be done, cost and funding status. Summer of 1997 Highway 27: Build a traffic signal light at 32nd Avenue. $100,000 to $200,000. Funded. Interstate 90: Improve the intersection of Sprague Avenue and Fancher Road as part of the Sprague interchange project. $1 million to $1.5 million. Funded. Fall of 1997: Highway 27: Resurface the stretch from 25th Avenue to I-90. $750,000 to $2 million. Not funded. Interstate 90: Install a regional traffic management system. $750,000 to $2 million. Funded. Interstate 90: Modify eastbound freeway off-ramp movement, and improve Pines Road and Mission Avenue intersection. $250,000 to $750,000. Funded. Interstate 90: Build a new eastbound through lane, a merging lane and freeway bridges between Sprague and Argonne interchanges. $13 million to $14 million. Funded. Fall of 1998: Interstate 90: Construction begins on Evergreen Road interchange. $14 million to $16 million. Partially funded. Interstate 90: Build double left-turn lane on Pines interchange. $1 million to 2 million. Not funded. Highway 27: Resurface the stretch between I-90 and Trent Road. $400,000 to $1.5 million. Not funded. Winter of 1998-99 Interstate 90: Resurface the stretch between Sprague and Pines interchanges. $1 million to $2 million. Not funded. Interstate 90: Build new Spokane Port of Entry inspection site. $500,000 to $1 million. Not funded. Highway 290: Resurface from Mission Avenue to Fancher Road. $400,000 to $700,000. Not funded. Highway 290: Build center turn lane from Fancher Road to Sullivan Road. $9 million to $11 million. Not funded. Not yet scheduled: I-90: Build a westbound merging lane, a through lane and freeway bridges between Sprague and Argonne interchanges. $22 million to $25 million. Not funded. Interstate 90: Build a through lane and a merging lane in each direction between Broadway and Argonne interchanges, and a new bridge at Park Road. $20 million to $22 million. Not funded. Brian Coddington