April/May 2012
- Weekly Construction Update
- Awarded to Graham Construction & Management, Inc. of Spokane with a construction bid of $21,455,920.
- Under construction, depending on weather.
- USDOT received a $35 million Transportation Infrastructure Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant to WSDOT, on February 17, 2010; to construct the "US 395, NSC - Freya St to Farwell Rd Southbound Additional Lanes" project.
This two year project completes the southbound lanes between the Francis/Freya and Farwell Interchanges. It constructs three additional concrete lanes - 3.7 miles of divided highway, five highway bridges, two pedestrian bridges and a roundabout. Construction is expected to start summer 2010 with completion in 2012.
This is the first TIGER project in the nation to open bids. 1.5 billion dollars were made available under this program. Over 1400 projects, totaling over $50 billion, were submitted from all 50 states as part of this national competitive process for funding. The NSC Freya St to Farwell Rd Southbound Additional Lanes project was submitted along with two other projects in Washington State. The TIGER grant program is a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
If there are any remaining TIGER funds left after the re-bid contract has been awarded (of the original $35 million allocated) WSDOT is looking at options to fund: all or part of the Parksmith Interchange, completing all or part of the Freya Street Interchange, or extending the NSC mainline south to Francis Avenue.
Why is WSDOT
building the North Spokane Corridor?
The NSC is considered a multi-modal corridor; as a freeway: it maximizes vehicle capacity and contributes to freight hauling competitiveness by moving vehicles and freight traffic north and south through metropolitan Spokane, from I-90 to US 395 at Wandermere, away from local arterials and on to a free flowing freeway system. It supports alternative transportation choices by providing: park and ride lots, vanpooling operations, reserves enough right-of-way for high capacity transit and provides a pedestrian/bicycle trail along its full length. Once complete, the NSC will decrease travel time, fuel usage, and congestion, while improving safety by reducing collisions on local arterials.
The End Result
The Southbound Lanes Project:
- Completes earthwork and constructs 3.7 miles of concrete pavement from Francis/Freya Interchange to Farwell Interchange.
- Builds southbound bridges over Lincoln, Gerlach, Fairview, Market and Parksmith, and pedestrian bridges at Parksmith and Lincoln.
- Builds a roundabout at the Freya southbound off ramp.
- Completes the ultimate six-lane configuration (three northbound and three southbound lanes) between Francis Avenue and Farwell Road allowing the existing three northbound lanes to be redirected to carry only northbound traffic. A total of three lanes were constructed on the Francis to Farwell Project with one lane currently being used for northbound traffic and one for southbound traffic; these two lanes are separated by a lane-width median. The northbound lanes opened to traffic on August 22, 2009.
Project Benefits
- This project is expected to support more than 100 jobs during construction.
- Provides direct job creation and benefits during construction, and offers long term benefits of better access and mobility to job and commercial centers in the Spokane area.
- Completion of this segment of the NSC will provide lasting, long term economic benefits to one of Spokane's most economically distressed areas.
- Will add 3.7 miles of new freeway to an economically important North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) corridor in Eastern Washington.
- Supports our state investment of completing a multimodal corridor that includes a limited access highway, pedestrian/bicycle facilities, park and ride lots, and provides right-of-way for future high capacity transit.
- Reduces congestion on our local arterials by creating a direct route for vehicle and freight traffic passing through Spokane.
- It provides a direct benefit to several large distribution centers adjacent to the freeway. This is valuable real estate that already has rail access, but lacks adequate trucking access.
- When this contract is finished along with the adjacent US 2 and Wandermere contracts in late 2011, over half of the 10.5-mile North Spokane Corridor will be open to traffic.
What is the project timeline?
Ad Date: Early June 2010
Construction Start: Summer 2010
Estimated Completion: Late 2011 or Early 2012
Financial Information
- Federal ARRA/TIGER - $26,742,766
- 2003 State Gas Tax (Nickel) - $827,079
- Total - $27,569,313
How can I get more information?
Contact:
Project Engineer:
Bob Hilmes , P.E.
WSDOT Project Office
2714 N. Mayfair
Spokane, WA 99207
Phone: (509) 324-6231
E-mail: hilmesb@wsdot.wa.gov
back to top