Repaving project rates a celebration

The Martinelli’s sparkling cider was flowing Friday.

Spokane Mayor Jim West gave the full shake-the-bottle, pop-the-cork (or in this case, plastic top) treatment to six blocks of fresh asphalt.

That’s what it’s come to in Spokane.

“We’re going to celebrate every little success,” said West.

West and other city officials were celebrating the completion of a project to repave Stevens Street from Spokane Falls Boulevard to Third Avenue.

The work cost $300,000 and took a month to complete.

It was one of a series of projects using $15 million in council-approved bonds for road repairs.

Money from those bonds also is being used to repair Indian Trail Road and Fifth Avenue, but the total amount offers little more than a pothole patch to Spokane’s problem of crumbling streets.

That’s why West wants to float a bond issue to fund 10 years’ worth of repairs.

How much money he wants and when the measure would go on the ballot haven’t been determined, though West said he’d like to send the bond issue to voters in November or next spring.

A street bond issue failed miserably in 2002, with just 44 percent of voters approving the measure.

That bond issue wasn’t specific enough, said West. People want to know where their money will be going.

At that time, the city’s street repair backlog totaled $180 million.

What a difference two years make. West said the backlog is more than $250 million now.

Spokane’s budget is too tight to pay for all the necessary street repairs without additional funding, the mayor said, adding that voters need to understand the constraints the city is under.

“They want streets fixed, but they don’t want libraries closed and police officers laid off to do it,” he said.

The city’s Citizens Streets Advisory Committee will hold public forums to discuss the issue.

Meetings will kick off Aug. 17 at the East Central Community Center. The schedule will continue Aug. 18 at the West Central Community Center, Aug. 19 at the Northeast Community Center, Aug. 24 at the Five Mile Grange, Aug. 26 at the Southside Senior Center and Aug. 27 at Spokane City Hall.

The meeting at City Hall will run from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. All others will go from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Not-so-smooth sailing

A little rain was all it took Friday to send Spokane County drivers into ditches and one another.

By 1:30 p.m., law enforcement had responded to 30 crashes.

Because it had been a long time since the last sizable rainfall here, lots of oil and other grime had built up on roads, and that was quickly sprayed onto windshields.

Spokane County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Dave Reagan gave local drivers an e-mail lecture. Keep those wipers ready and the washer-fluid container full, he said.

You tell those bad drivers, Dave.

O’Headache

Finally.

The Federal Aviation Administration is doing something about congestion at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.

Officials told airlines in no uncertain terms last week that they had better reduce their flight schedules into that airport or the government would do it for them.

I don’t know about you, but with the way things have been there – about half the flights are late – I wouldn’t make a connection at O’Hare without giving myself lots of layover time.

Even worse, with the number of flights traveling through O’Hare, problems there can gum up the works all over the country.

Maybe this edict finally will help.

New cameras

The Washington state Department of Transportation has added six cameras along Interstate 90 in Spokane.

They’re up and running at Freya, near the Sprague overpass, Broadway, Park and Argonne. Another camera at Fancher also is being added to the system.

The goal is to discover and report problems more quickly.

Slow going

Expect delays on state Highway 27 just north of Pullman this week. Crews will be working on a bridge there today through Thursday.

Smoothing of Interstate 90 from Salnave Road to Geiger Boulevard could cause some delays this week.

Dishman-Mica Road will be closed between Thorpe Road and state Highway 27 on Tuesday for chip-seal road repairs. Traffic will be detoured.