Upriver Widening Project Still Stalled

Eight months after the widening of Upriver Drive was scheduled to begin, the project remains stalled.

Last December, the county halted its planned $1.3 million Upriver Drive project at the last minute after discovering that road widening would disturb areas of cultural significance to the Spokane Indian Tribe.

While local, state and federal agencies have all signed off on an agreement that would require archeological recovery and documentation at the sites but allow construction, the tribe this week sent a letter to the county saying it opposes the project.

The Spokane Tribe’s attorney, Dave Lundgren, said Friday that the tribe would not comment on the matter.

The county is asking the federal Advisory Council on Historic Preservation to green-light the project without the tribe’s authorization, said assistant county engineer Ross Kelley. The council has authority over the Upriver Drive project because of the federal funding and the cultural issues involved.

The council has 30 days to decide if the project can go forward.

If it does, the county would like to begin construction in mid-October and have work completed next spring.

Part of the concern centers around a grouping of basalt boulders below Riblet Mansion known as “Coyote Rocks.” According to tribal history, the rocks were placed there during a long-ago battle between the tribe and a monster.

The county and tribe disagree about which rocks are actually “Coyote Rocks,” Kelley said.

There are also concerns about another area near Plantes Ferry Park.

The Upriver Drive project would result in wider traffic lanes and shoulders and a bike path, from 1-1/2 miles east of Argonne Road to just west of Plantes Ferry Park.

To make way for the wider roadway, construction crews would have to cut into the rocky hillside above the river.

The agreement submitted to the historic preservation council was drafted by Eastern Washington University consultants. According to Kelley, it would require the county to do the following if the road-widening project proceeds:

Document any findings.

Monitor the site and and preserve the nature of Coyote Rocks.

Pay for two tribal liaisons to inspect the site.

Give the tribe anything that looks like an artifact if it’s discovered while doing future construction or excavation.

Create a recovery crew that includes the EWU consultant and Spokane tribe representatives.

Stop work, photograph, map and excavate the site if other cultural resources are found.

Return any human remains, which county officials say are highly unlikely to be found, to the Spokane tribe.