A Congested Feeling Morning Rush Hour Comes To A Near Halt On Interstate 90

It was an ugly Wednesday morning to be driving west on Interstate 90 through Spokane.

Construction squeezed traffic over the Latah Creek bridge to one lane Wednesday morning. Eastbound traffic has been down to one lane since May 3, but congestion in that direction wasn’t of the whopping, fist-shaking proportions of the west lane.

The view was bumpers, the smell exhaust, the headache up to 45 minutes long as westbound traffic backed up to the Division Street exit.

Construction is supposed to be completed in both directions before Memorial Day weekend. Until then, lane restrictions will be in place 24 hours a day, seven days a week. All westbound on- and off-ramps are currently open, but may close at times.

The on-ramp feeding northbound U.S. 195 traffic onto eastbound I-90 also is closed. Northbound U.S. 195 motorists who need to connect with I-90 or reach downtown Spokane will be detoured off northbound U.S. 195 at Inland Empire Way onto Sunset Boulevard, then to Fourth or Third avenues.

Motorists should expect congestion at the intersections of Third and Fourth at Maple. The freeway off-ramp from eastbound Interstate 90 to southbound U.S. 195 is open.

“We were well-aware there would be traffic problems, but we don’t have any alternatives,” said Al Gilson, DOT spokesman. “We apologize for the inconvenience, but this is critical work that needs to be done.”

Construction crews are replacing the expansion joints in the interstate bridges. The eastbound and westbound bridges are made of concrete sections. Steel sleeves protect the sections where they meet. Without the sleeves, the sections would pulverize each other and grind holes in the bridges.

The sleeves are 37 years old and are coming loose. Crews are using jackhammers to rip them out and replant them in new concrete. The $300,000 job is being done by PCT Inc. of Seattle.

“The expansion joints have to be replaced. We considered having two lanes open while we did this, but it just wasn’t safe,” Gilson said.

The DOT is hoping motorists will either plan more time for their commutes, find alternative routes or carpool today.

With regard to alternate routes:

Westbound motorists headed downtown should consider getting off at the Division exit or earlier - - such as the exit at Hamilton - No. 282B. Drivers on Monday reported a nearly 30-minute wait trying to get off at the Lincoln exit, the next exit west of Division.

An obvious westbound detour is Sunset Boulevard, which can be reached by driving west on Second. However, Sunset Boulevard is in bad shape with potholes and bumps. Drivers on Monday reported traffic creeping up Sunset Hill and a three-cycle wait at the Sunset-Government Way stoplight because of traffic congestion.

“But at least it was moving,” said Stefanie Pettit, spokeswoman for Eastern Washington University.

At 8 a.m., Pettit took the Sunset detour. It added about 15 minutes to her commute time from Spokane to Cheney, she said.

The Latah Bridge project is just the latest challenge for I-90 commuters, who have been experiencing delays for weeks in the Valley due to work on a new Sprague interchange.

This sidebar appeared with the story: ROAD REPORT SPRAGUE INTERCHANGE Traffic is now being routed onto the two new temporary lanes between Havana and Broadway. The eastbound I-90 to eastbound Sprague off-ramp is open, but it no longer has a dedicated exit lane. Eastbound motorists may experience delays and congestion as traffic merges into two lanes.