I-90 Valley Tie-Ups Having Bad Weekend

Sat., June 10, 2000

By Trinity Hartman trinityh@spokesman.com

Traffic troubles on Interstate 90 will get worse before they get better.

And this weekend likely will be a nightmare for eastbound traffic.

State Department of Transportation officials said drivers should expect delays near the Evergreen interchange construction site. The eastbound Argonne off-ramp will also remain closed. And there will be the usual short, unpredictable delays between Havana and Sprague to allow construction trucks into the median.

After the weekend, delays along I-90 should lessen.

Depending on weather, the eastbound Argonne off-ramp (exit 287) should open by the end of the week, said DOT spokesman Al Gilson.

The off-ramp has been closed since May 15. Traffic has been detoured to the Broadway exit while work is in progress.

Crews were “weathered out” by rain on Thursday and weather will determine the exact day for reopening the exit, Gilson said.

Eastbound I-90 will be squeezed to one lane near the Evergreen interchange all weekend so construction crews can work on installing the girders that will support the overpass. If weather permits that work to be completed, the lane restrictions are expected to last only through this weekend.

The $23.4 million Evergreen interchange project is still on schedule and is expected to be completed by November. It will connect Evergreen Road to the freeway near the Spokane Valley Mall.

I-90 won’t be the only Valley road hit with construction next week. Motorists should expect delays in the following areas as well:

Maintenance crews will repair pavement on Highway 27 between Fairfield and Rockford. Short delays and lane restrictions are expected. That work is separate from a repaving project between 32nd Avenue and Freeman. Work there began last week and will cause continued lane closures through the summer.

Valley Couplet construction will periodically close one southbound lane of Dishman-Mica Road at Second Avenue.

Both Mission Avenue and Evergreen Road will remain closed to through traffic next week.

Traffic might be reduced to one lane at the intersection of Broadway Avenue and Evergreen while crews do utility work and install curbing.

Sullivan Road between 16th Avenue and Saltese Road will be reduced to one lane of traffic during daytime hours. A second lane will be open at night. Also, the intersection of 32nd Avenue and Sullivan Road will be closed until June 18.

Tree removal has been completed on the eastern side of University Road between Main and Mission. The power lines and other utilities will be moved next week which could cause some traffic delays.

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