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State and local officials recommit to 2030 opening of North Spokane Corridor

Under a tent with a backdrop of freeway construction, Gov. Bob Ferguson gives a news conference about the final push to complete the north-south corridor from the Spokane River and Spokane Community College area to I-90. The news conference was near the construction of the elevated deck of the freeway taking shape over the Spokane River. (Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review)
Under a tent with a backdrop of freeway construction, Gov. Bob Ferguson gives a news conference about the final push to complete the north-south corridor from the Spokane River and Spokane Community College area to I-90. The news conference was near the construction of the elevated deck of the freeway taking shape over the Spokane River. (Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review)
By Nick Gibson nickg@spokesman.com(509) 459-5039

Gov. Bob Ferguson and other public officials reinstated their commitment Monday to the unfinished North Spokane Corridor as construction crews work on the highway’s bridging above the Spokane River.

Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown and members of the Spokane City Council, Spokane County Commission and the Legislature joined Ferguson in celebrating the bipartisan effort to advocate for the project’s completion by 2030 amid the state’s budget challenges.

Legislators and state officials warned earlier this year that the project may be further delayed because of a billion-dollar shortfall in the biennial transportation budget amid rising construction costs and stagnating gas tax proceeds.

But the Legislature passed an additional 6-cents-per-gallon gasoline tax this year. That increase, which will be collected beginning July 1, will help fill that budget deficit and complete the highway, they said.

The new rate of 55.4 cents per gallon will climb by 2% each year to continue generating revenue for transportation.

While the North Spokane Corridor project has been considered “fully funded” for years, the Legislature must put pen to paper every two years to commit the funding in increments as part of the state’s budgeting process. Ferguson and state Sens. Leonard Christian, Jeff Holy and Marcus Riccelli remarked on the significance of the final $375 million allotment for the $1.5 billion project, and the bipartisan effort to get it over the line.

“That’s a huge step forward for us,” Ferguson said. “Our job is now to set our course, to stay on pace to meet that 2030 deadline. We’re gonna do everything in our power to make that happen.”

Riccelli and Holy, both elected to the Legislature as representatives in 2012, said ensuring the completion of the project was one of their priorities when first running for office. Now both on the Senate side, the pair from opposite parties has advocated for the project as allies for more than a decade.

“That’s an absolute indicator, what a nonpartisan, nonpolitical, just a nonpolicy issue this is,” Holy said. “This is something that’s a matter of necessity, that this whole region, Democrat, Republican, all work together, hand in hand on, period.”

“Our community is scrappy: We’re unabashed advocates to ensure our fair share of infrastructure investments, and we’ll continue to collectively muscle this project through to completion with the resources, trained workforce and the political will that you see up here today,” Riccelli said. “The North Spokane Corridor means significant economic development, good jobs, less pollution, less travel time.”

Christian added that the project’s final allotment to reach the 2030 completion goal came in large part because members of the region have put pressure on state leadership to get the freeway completed.

Ferguson ended the event with a warning that complications may continue to plague the project, even with the funding in hand. Tariffs, logistical challenges and rising construction costs are all things the state is keeping an eye on as it looks to complete the final sections that include the Children of the Sun Trail and the link-up with Interstate 90.

“That’s the way these things are,” Ferguson said. “But I think the reason why we’re all here with all of you, is to communicate this is a top priority. We’ve got the funding, we’re going to make sure we’re handling the details as it’s going forward, and make sure we’re monitoring what’s going on that could impact that.”