Progress By Dot On I-90 Will Ease Westbound Traffic Flow

Sat., July 15, 2000

By Trinity Hartman trinityh@spokesman.com

One construction snarl on Interstate 90 will lessen after this weekend.

The state Department of Transportation expects work on the outer westbound lane near the Argonne exit to be finished either today or Sunday.

I-90 has been down to one lane westbound between the Argonne and Broadway interchanges since July 8 while crews paved the outside travel lane.

The lane closure has backed up freeway traffic at times past the Pines Road on-ramp.

“That was a pretty long one,” said DOT spokesman Al Gilson. “There’ll be more as we go along.”

Lane closures will continue next week on other parts of I-90. Eastbound motorists should still expect periodic lane closures near the Sprague interchange.

Night work at the future Evergreen interchange will mean a lane closed in each direction next week. Crews will work on the Evergreen overpass between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. late next week. Those closures should only last a few days.

In other area construction:

Several county chip sealing projects will slow traffic on roads in the Newman Lake and Otis Orchards areas next week.

Stretches of Muzzy Road and East Newman Lake Drive will be chip sealed Monday and Tuesday. Crews will work on Hauser Lake Road and Starr Road on Wednesday, and Starr and River roads on Thursday.

The roads will not be closed, but motorists should expect slower speeds.

Numerous roads in the South Ponderosa neighborhood will be paved during the next several weeks. All of the streets being paved are local access roads. Paving started Friday and will continue for the next few weeks.

The repaving is part of a sewering project in the area.

Valley Couplet work will make for rough driving along First Avenue from Thierman Road to Park Road. Park from Sprague Avenue to Fourth Avenue will be down to one lane with flaggers at times during couplet work.

Sullivan Road remains under construction from 16th Avenue to 32nd Avenue. The intersection at 24th will be closed with a detour in place.

University Road is closed between Main Avenue and Mission Avenue. A project to widen the road and install sewer llines will detour traffic for the rest of the summer. Detours are in place.

Evergreen Road remains closed to through traffic from Sprague to Mission for widening and sewering.

Crews continue repaving Highway 27 between 32nd Avenue and Freeman. Motorists should expect lane restrictions and some delays along the stretch.

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