Springtime Means Road Construction

Kimberly Harding knows the pain of road construction.

Two years ago, the West Valley resident had to hassle with detours and traffic delays as work crews built the Argonne Road railroad underpass near her home. This spring, she’s dealing with freeway backups and sewer installations yards from her front door.

Now, there’s more to come for the veterinary assistant and office manager at Millwood Animal Clinic on East Trent.

This summer, state construction crews will be widening Trent in front of her workplace and county crews will be installing sewer lines on streets she uses daily. “They’re going to be ripping us up from one end to the other,” Harding said. “It’s going to be crazy.”

The rest of the Valley may as well join the madness.

This summer’s road construction season is beginning and the forecast calls for plenty of noise, dust, flaggers and work crews in the months ahead.

This year, Spokane County will spend more than $11 million on construction jobs ranging from small neighborhood sewer projects to the start of construction on the $18.7 million Valley Couplet.

Construction crews will begin work on the new Evergreen Road interchange, which will help relieve traffic backups on Sullivan Road near the Spokane Valley Mall.

In addition, work will begin on a $970,000 project on the north side of the Pines Road freeway interchange.

Crews will be adding a second turn lane to the westbound freeway entrance ramp.

Other projects include repaving McDonald Road from Forrest Avenue to 16th Avenue and completing construction of Mirabeau Parkway, the road serving the Valley community center being built on the former Walk in the Wild Zoo site.

Trent Avenue will get a new center turn lane from Fancher Road to Sullivan as part of an accident-reduction effort.

Meanwhile, Valley commuters will be slowed almost all year by on-going work at the Sprague Avenue freeway interchange.

While all these projects seem like plenty for Valley drivers to digest, just wait, warns one county engineer.

“Next year, you will see much more,” said Jim Haines, who oversees engineering projects.

In 2000, work on the Valley Couplet will expand. If state funding is available, there could also be widening work on I-90 through the Valley. And work could also begin on rebuilding the Harvard Road freeway interchange and on widening of Evergreen Road north of Sprague Avenue.

This sidebar appeared with the story: TRAFFIC TWISTS Six projects Spokane County plans six sewer projects in the Valley this year, all of which will disrupt local traffic. The Valley Vista sewer project will bring service to 400 homes in the area between Broadway and Mission avenues near Herald Road. About 100 homes will be sewered between Dishman Mica and Bowdish roads and 35th and 40th avenues. The Wellesley Manor sewer project will bring service to about 300 homes between Flora and Sullivan roads north of Trent Avenue. Businesses and homes in the area between Argonne and Felts roads and Interstate 90 and Trent will receive sewers. About 50 homes along Eighth and 11th avenues near Pierce Road and along Bowdish Road in the same area will receive sewer lines. A small group of homes along Hutchinson Road just west of Argonne will also receive sewer service.