Projects block access to summer fun

Spokane-area recreationists will have to endure major disruptions this summer in two popular venues – the Spokane River and Mount Spokane.

Summer construction projects will block normal access for paddlers and anglers on the upper Spokane River as well as vehicle access to Mount Spokane State Park. Projects of special note to recreationalists include:

Barker Road bridge construction – Sometime in late June, contractors will begin work to widen the bridge over the Spokane River at Barker Road. During construction, the popular paddler’s put-in and take-out point will be closed to public access.

Indeed, when work is in progress, no river passage through the area will be allowed during certain phases of the construction. Upstream signage will indicate when river passage will be allowed when workers are idled.

“A total blockage could be very, very dangerous,” said local kayaker Terry Miller, indicating boaters met with the city of Spokane Valley, but were told “it is up to the contractor to make all the decisions on closing the river.”

Canoeists and kayakers starting in North Idaho will have to take out at the stateline bridge access or at Harvard Road in Liberty Lake, but this area may be closed, too (see next item).

The next decent access point downstream from Barker Road is at the Flora Road access to the Centennial Trail. This point still gives paddlers access upstream from Sullivan Rapids.

The Spokane Canoe & Kayak Club’s requests for other temporary access have not been addressed.

The city of Spokane Valley Public Works Department is compiling an e-mail list for updates on the bridge construction and river access.

Contact Carol Bell, cbranch@spokanevalley.org, telephone 688-0232.

Harvard Road toxics cleanup – Sometime in July or early August, the state Department of Ecology plans to close the river access on the north downstream side of Harvard Road for a cleanup of heavy metals from upstream mining waste. The project could last about a month, said DOE project coordinator Zach Hedgpeth.

DOE plans to build a gravel boat launch at the site when cleanup is completed.

Contact: zahe461@ecy.wa.gov, telephone 329-3484.

Mount Spokane road construction – Starting Monday, Mount Spokane Park Drive, the main park access road, will be closed just inside the park boundary at the first trailhead and restroom area.

The closure will run Monday through Thursday for a few weeks while contractors do preliminary road-widening work.

Around the first week of July, crews will close the road to most public access seven days a week.

Restricted access will be allowed on the hour for people who live in mountain condominiums, resort workers, authorized volunteer groups and people who have made reservations to stay at the Quartz Mountain lookout, said Steve Christensen, state park manager.

“Otherwise, the only way to get into the park will be to hike or mountain bike,” he said.

“The road to the summit won’t be open at all during the summer,” he said. “The general public will not be allowed to drive in and park after the main road is closed.”

Hikers can drive past park headquarters, park at the trailhead and hike up Trail 110 for what would be one of the best hiking seasons in years in terms of park solitude.

Mountain bikers also can ride up Trail 110 from the park entrance area, but Christensen suggested they access the park at the park boundary on Day-Mount Spokane Road.

“The road grade is a lot more gentle than the steep grade on the trail,” he said. “But some culverts have washed out.”

People who applied on March 1 for overnight camping reservations at the Quartz Mountain lookout were not deterred by the construction inconvenience or the potential of noise from trucks hauling rock from the quarry near the lookout.

“When they called to make reservations, we warned them that it could be noisy even in the middle of the night at times, and we still filled all the summer reservations in about four hours,” he said.