I-90 work moves to westbound lanes near downtown; backups expected

Maintenance work on Interstate 90 is moving to the westbound lanes this week, resulting in the closure of one of the lanes going into downtown.

Crews will start setting up for construction at 8 p.m. on Thursday when one westbound lane will be closed, leaving two open through lanes.

At 10 p.m., two westbound lanes will close for setting up lane configurations for the work, leaving just a single through lane overnight in the construction zone.

Work starts early Friday morning when one of the westbound lanes will be closed and the open lanes will be realigned along the shoulder.

The work is expected to last until July 18.

The work stems from a $1.6 million project to repair bridge joints and pavement panels at the site. The state Department of Transportation hired West Co. of Airway Heights to carry out the project.

Work in the eastbound lanes in May and June resulted in one of the lanes being closed and regular weekday backups.

A similar problem with backups is likely during the westbound lane closure, said John Brueher, construction manager for West Co.

The main job now is repair of a bridge joint at Division Street along with pavement repairs, he said.

The westbound closure could cause morning backups during commute hours, Brueher said.

Work in the eastbound lanes last spring took longer than initially anticipated because there were more repairs needed than initially planned, including a complete rebuilding of bridge joints where eastbound I-90 crosses Third Avenue.

Repair of the westbound bridge joints at Third Avenue is not included in the current contract with West Co., Brueher said.