From the Regional Administrator

Welcome to our February newsletter.

Our big news this month is the announcement of new funding for the North Spokane Corridor. Plus we have a job starting on US 195 near Spokane and a short update on our winter maintenance operations.

As always, if you have any questions on items in this newsletter, or other transportation issues, please let me know. Give me a call at (509) 324-6010 or drop me an e-mail at metcalk@wsdot.wa.gov .

Keith Metcalf
Regional Administrator

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North Spokane Corridor awarded TIGER grant for more construction

Progress on the North Spokane Corridor received a “shot in the arm” in February. The WSDOT was awarded a $35 million federal grant as part of the Transportation Investments Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant program. The TIGER grant is a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
Nationally, just $1.5 billion was made available under this program with over 1,400 projects totaling over $50 billion submitted from all 50 states

The project, US 395-NSC/Francis Avenue to Farwell Road-Southbound Lanes adds the lanes needed to create the fully divided, six-lane freeway, in this 3.7 mile segment. Traffic is already flowing on the completed northbound side of this portion of the North Spokane Corridor (NSC) in a temporary configuration with one lane in each direction. Along with the added lanes, the new project will construct five new bridges to carry southbound traffic over local roads.

This work continues the construction progress of the North Spokane Corridor. Two major jobs are underway to the north from Farwell Road to the Wandermere vicinity. These jobs will be completed and opened to traffic in 2011, providing the divided freeway connection to existing US 395.

WSDOT Eastern Region chose the Francis Avenue to Farwell Road Southbound Lanes Project to compete for TIGER grant funding because it met the stringent criteria required, such as to improving overall community livability and our economic competitiveness by moving freight through the community more efficiently. In addition, it’s a ‘shovel-ready’ project. That means the right of way is already purchased, the plans are complete, and the job is ready for a contractor to bid on. Once the southbound lanes are constructed, over half of the 10-mile long North Spokane Corridor will be completed and open to traffic.

The job will be advertised for contractor bids within a few weeks with construction starting this spring with completion in late 2011.

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Pavement rehabilitation project on US 195 starts this month

Contractor crews will begin construction on another project in the Eastern Region. The 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) provided the funding for pavement improvements on US 195 in southwest Spokane. The work was made possible through savings on other ARRA construction projects built earlier in 2009.
On March 15, Acme Concrete Paving, Inc. of Spokane will begin work on a five-mile stretch of northbound US 195. This project installs steel "dowel bars" between the existing concrete panels in the northbound lanes. Following that, the concrete surface will be smoothed out with a diamond grinder. In addition, a number of broken concrete panels will be replaced. Acme is the prime contractor on the job with a construction bid of $2,449,266. The work will take about three months to complete.
Northbound traffic will be reduced to one lane in some areas while the work is underway. There may also be short-term restrictions at intersections when crews area working on the adjacent highway pavement.

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Winter maintenance update

We’ve had a fairly mild winter so our crews have been able to do some catch-up chores while they kept an eye on the weather and road conditions. The crews took care of guardrail repairs, rock fall cleanup, pothole patching, and other general items that usually have to wait until spring. Of course, they still patrolled the highways applying de-icing treatments during freezing conditions. Most of the crews will soon be back to their normal shifts but we’ll be watching the weather and keep the plows, sanders, and de-icing equipment ready when needed.