Spokane Airport Board approves plan to spend around $33.8 million on interchange at Spotted Road and Airport Drive

The Spokane International Airport Board approved a plan on Thursday that would relocate the Spotted Road interchange across Airport Drive to a new location for safety reasons.

“There have been a good number of accidents that have occurred, even when we put the rumble strips and the stop signs and the lights and the flashers,” said Ezra Eckhardt, the chair of the Spokane Airport Board. “People that are on Spotted Road don’t recognize the speed that the cars are coming on the inbound and outbound road for the airport.”

With an anticipated 4.4 million passengers this year, improvements and expansions are occurring all across the Spokane Airport. Some projects are slated for a year or so from now, while others are much farther out. This specific project, along with a runway rehabilitation plan that would rebuild the intersection where two runways meet, are the most impactful for travelers, Eckhardt said.

Todd Woodard, the marketing and public affairs director for the Spokane Airport, said the airport generates around $3.2 billion for the region every year. Because of this, Eckhardt called the airport the greatest single economic driver for the community. Behind only SeaTac airport, the Spokane International Airport is the second-largest airport in Washington state.

The board on Thursday agreed to accept a $22.8 million grant from the Department of Transportation. Eckhardt said that another $5 million is coming from additional matching, while the airport is responsible for raising about $6 million to complete the project. The airport has worked with various government agencies and stakeholders over time, apart from the Department of Transportation, to make the vision a reality.

Eckhardt said that the project, named “Airport Drive and Spotted Road Safety and Multimodal Improvements Project,” has been under review for at least the past five years.

Spotted Road is a north-south roadway that begins along U.S. Highway 2 and goes south. Airport Drive is a 5-mile stretch that runs east to west, serving as a direct route for travelers journeying to and from the airport. Spotted Road welcomes approximately 2,600 vehicles on its roadway every day, while Airport Drive carries 16,500 vehicles on weekdays and about 14,000 vehicles on the weekend, according to the airport’s website.

Eckhardt said the plan would move the Spotted Road intersection about a quarter mile or more away from its current location. This move would position Spotted Road even farther from its 1,200-foot distance from the airport’s Runway Protection Zone. This zone is designed to keep people and property on the ground safe in case of a landing outside the runway, per federal guidelines.

“I don’t think (the project) will impact people coming to the airport,” Eckhardt said. “There will be, obviously some construction rerouting when the bridge itself is put over the top of the (Airport Drive) roadway, but travelers will be rerouted. So you can still come and go to the airport during that project.”

Eckhardt imagines that the most expensive part of the interchange effort will come from the rerouting of Spotted Road. He imagines 2 miles of linear roadways and off-ramps will have to be created.

Woodard said construction most likely will not start until the end of 2026.

“We, the airport, exists to serve the community,” Eckhardt said. “We’re heading into the holiday season. Come to the airport early. Make sure that you’re prepared to travel. And we want to wish everybody safe journeys as they travel through the Spokane airport. And again, we’re here to serve.”