We’Ve Done Enough Talking; It’S Time To Build

The need for a high-speed, limited-access corridor in the Spokane area has been a topic of interest and concern for over 50 years. In fact, the first proposal for a north-south freeway was made in 1946. In the ensuing decades, Spokane and the surrounding area grew considerably. However, the basic surface arterial roadway system that served metropolitan Spokane for decades now carries far more traffic than ever before.

In the Spokane area, north of Interstate 90, there are 17 primary and secondary arterial routes between Assembly on the west and Argonne on the east. Each day, these carry an average of 300,000 vehicles between Interstate 90 and Francis as residents travel to and from work, school and other destinations in their daily routine. When you consider that the busiest roadway in the state, Interstate 5 in Seattle, carries a daily average of 244,000 vehicles, you can see that we do have big-city congestion in Spokane.

Spokane County’s population has increased by almost 50,000 residents in just the last 17 years. Over 410,000 people now reside in Spokane County. Projections also show that the population will increase by 50 percent over the next 20 years.

In 1997, the Washington State Department of Transportation completed an exhaustive environmental impact statement on the north/south freeway concept. This 900-page document addressed the issues relating to the development of what is now referred to as the North Spokane Corridor (NSC) which recommended that a new high-speed, limited-access facility be constructed, linking Interstate 90 with U.S. 2 and U.S. 395.

The alternative to the NSC is worsening congestion on Spokane’s north/south arterial system. Already we have upwards of 2,000 heavy trucks on the Division Street and Market/Greene corridors each day. With industry’s growing reliance on trucks as its primary shipping mode, this number will only increase.

As congestion increases, drivers will attempt to find new alternative routes to avoid it. These new routes go past our homes, schools and parks, often on non-arterial streets with no traffic control.

Widening existing arterials and adding new ones is not necessarily the answer. The concerns of neighborhood impacts, noise, air pollution and cost of land for expansion along our arterials must be considered. In the recent expansion of Division Street, land acquisition for an additional 12 feet on each side of the street was 67 percent of the cost of the project.

The estimate to complete the North Spokane Corridor is $892 million in 1998 dollars and the cost will only go up. In 1973, just 25 years ago, the cost to build a similar facility was only $115 million. There are dollar savings too. Studies show that the NSC will save $21.7 million annually in accident costs and $28 million each year in travel time expenses.

Recently, several environmental groups have questioned the need for this new facility and raised concerns about air quality, hazardous material sites, and neighborhood impact. The Final Environmental Impact Statement addressed these subjects and more.

On air quality, the EIS data determined that, with the completion of the NSC, carbon monoxide emissions would be reduced by 2.3 million pounds annually. This is attributed to vehicles moving at efficient speeds and not idling at numerous intersections. It is also true that the proposed freeway route travels through a number of hazardous material sites. As part of the construction of the new facility, these sites will be mitigated to state and federal cleanup standards.

There have also been concerns about neighborhoods and the potential for community sprawl. First, the North Spokane Freeway EIS was one of the first in the nation to be completed under new regulations for environmental justice to ensure that this new route did not unduly impact low-cost housing or neighborhoods with high percentages of minority populations. In fact, the goal is to finalize a route that impacts the fewest overall number of housing units possible. Not an easy task considering the 10-mile length of this new facility.

On the issue of urban sprawl, this concern needs to be addressed by the City of Spokane and Spokane County zoning and planning authorities. The WSDOT is responsible for access along the corridor, but does not and cannot make any decisions regarding land use issues adjacent to this new facility. In fact, because there are only five interchanges in the 10-mile length, this limited access corridor is a more effective means of controlling sprawl.

During the past year, the North Spokane Corridor project has received outstanding support from local governmental officials, organizations, business groups, plus state and federal officials. Our citizens have also expressed their support. In a poll conducted by Robinson Research in 1997, over 83 percent of Spokane residents support the development of this project.

Spokane has changed during the past half-century and in that time, the citizens of this community have discussed the concept of improved north/south transportation in great detail. It is now time to move forward.