Date:  Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Contact: Al Gilson
Communications Manager
WSDOT Eastern Region
2714 N. Mayfair
Spokane, WA  99207
509-324-6015
gilsona@wsdot.wa.gov

SPOKANE – A busy section of Interstate 90 in the Spokane Valley will get some much needed widening this construction season.

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) and Acme Concrete Paving Inc. of Spokane will begin construction March 28 on the I-90/Sullivan Road to Barker Road widening project.

The $15 million project adds a third lane in each direction through this 2.8-mile section of I-90. Crews will remove the existing asphalt pavement then rebuild the highway with a more durable Portland Cement Concrete Pavement (PCCP) surface.

“This portion of I-90 was designed and built in the early to mid 1950’s and traffic volumes have grown significantly over the past half century,” said Keith Metcalf, WSDOT Eastern Region Administrator.

“As construction funding becomes available we hope to continue this widening process in stages, to Liberty Lake next and eventually to the Idaho border, he said. “These improvements are necessary to accommodate freight movement as well as heavy commute traffic between the Spokane County area and north Idaho.”

Traffic will flow freely through the project with two lanes in each direction during most of the construction project. Crews will build temporary pavement and lanes, so all the freeway traffic can use one side of the existing highway.

Drivers will need to be alert as they travel through this section during the work. The lane width will be reduced from 12 feet to 11 feet and shoulder width will be pared down to only two feet. To assist motorists in navigating this work zone safely, the legal speed limit will be reduced for the duration of the project. Motorists will need to be alert for speed limit changes.

There will be some occasional lane restrictions during evening or overnight hours as workers perform some of the project tasks.

WSDOT began widening I-90 and converting the surface to PCCP in 1997 near the Spokane city limits. Since then the work has continued east with a series of projects. With the completion of this job, a 10-mile section of I-90 will be fully rebuilt.

Construction should take about 30 weeks with the project planned to be complete by late fall.

Drivers can follow construction-related traffic impacts by visiting WSDOT’s Weekly Construction Update Web page and the I-90/Sullivan to Barker project page.

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