The US 395 corridor represents a major freight route connecting Canada with Interstate 90 in Spokane, carrying over 3.7 million tons of commodities valued at $5.5 billion dollars annually through Spokane. A series of improvements are being made throughout the corridor to address congestion and to move people and freight efficiently and safely through the metropolitan Spokane area.
The multi-lane extension of US 395 north of Spokane first began with a six-mile long project, “Hastings to MP 172 – Stage 1,” in July 1993. Originally planned as a single project, the job was broken into two stages due to insufficient funding availability. This project moved the alignment of US 395 to the west, added lanes and constructed a bridge over the Little Spokane River. This project was budgeted for $15.3 million and was completed under budget at a construction cost of $15.1 million in December 1995. The second stage of this project completed the four-lane facility to Milepost 172 (six miles north of Hastings) and constructed an interchange at Hatch Road. Work began in August 1999 and was completed on schedule in July 2001, and on budget at $16.8 million.
In August 2001, construction started for the first project for the North Spokane Corridor, from Hawthorne Road to US 2. This project built the roadway base for future highway construction. This “grading-only” project was completed on schedule and within the $4.9 million budget in October 2003.
In 2003 work began on several Nickel Fund projects for the North Spokane Corridor. There are two main projects – Francis Avenue to Farwell Road, and US 2 to Wandermere & US 2 Lowering – which are comprised of several smaller contracts. When completed in 2011, a five-mile section between the north end of the project at Wandermere and Francis Avenue will be opened to traffic. The first of four contracts, appropriately named, "Farwell Road Lowering," reduced the elevation of Farwell Road and built four bridges in preparation for the ultimate highway construction. Construction for this stage started in March 2004 and was substantially completed in July 2005. This $6.4 million contract was on time and on budget. The Francis Avenue to Farwell Road portion of the corridor is on schedule for opening to traffic in 2008.
The second contract “Gerlach to Wandermere - Grading” started in April 2005 and is currently under construction. This job builds detours at US 2 and Market so that construction can continue without major impacts to traffic. As part of this work, nearly 2 million yards of soil will be moved to build the roadway base. A significant part of this $18.8 million project involves utility relocation. A third contract, "Francis Avenue to US 2 - Structures" is scheduled to be advertised for contractor bids in late fall of 2005. This will build bridges for the new corridor in five locations: Perry Road, Shady Slope Road, Parksmith Road, Market and Fairview Road. Three future contracts are funded and will be completed as part of the Nickel Fund package by 2011.
Other work:
Other routine work through the US 395 corridor includes preservation and safety restoration projects intended to maintain the overall integrity of the highway. In addition, WSDOT is working with City of Colville on a number of projects to improve traffic flow through this community, including street reconfiguration, intersection enhancements such as the Roundabout at Hawthorne Ave., curb and sidewalk, and streetscape enhancement. To date the total project cost is just shy of $18 million.
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