Community News 10/03/08
City making steady progress on street upgrades
By Craig Howard
News Editor

Early autumn has arrived in Spokane Valley, a time for high school football, the apple festival in Green Bluff and freshly repaved concrete intersections.

As the warm weather carries over into October, street crews throughout the area are working at sites throughout the city, from the Barker Road Bridge in the eastern section,  to the  Pines/Mansfield area in the west, where Spokane Valley’s first traffic roundabout is scheduled to be in place by the time winter descends.

At the junction of Bowdish Road and Sprague Avenue, motorists and pedestrians were asked to adjust their travel routes earlier this week as construction began on a project to install a concrete intersection, add a new signal system and upgrade sidewalks to meet guidelines prescribed by the Americans with Disabilities Act. The portion of Bowdish just north of Sprague will be closed through Oct. 13, with other alterations scheduled until the anticipated completion of the project Nov. 1.

For Steve Worley, a Spokane Valley senior engineer who oversees capital improvement projects, this time of year is defined by sight of neatly placed safety cones and the rumble of asphalt trucks.

“Before we were a city, this area qualified for a lot of street grants because it was defined as an urban area,” Worley said. “Spokane County did a lot of work out here. As a city, we’ve been very successful getting federal and state grants for road improvements because we’re the seventh largest jurisdiction in the state. Our traffic numbers and road conditions rank pretty well.”

Spokane County continues to be involved in a number of renovation efforts within the city, including a sewer line installation project, also known as S.T.E.P. (Septic Tank Elimination Program). This spring and summer, Spokane County repaved streets in five Valley neighborhoods, part of an agenda that will continue through 2011 with four projects scheduled for 2009.

The work includes curb-to-curb, or “full-width” paving of roads thanks to money provided by the city of Spokane Valley. Kevin Cooke, an engineer with Spokane County said the full-width approach “represents a big step up in stability from just repaving a trench area.”

The issue was part of a municipal debate back in September 2004, when a $6 million bond to fund full-width paving failed to earn the required 60 percent of the vote. Only 48 percent of voters in Spokane Valley supported the initiative that would have added a tax of 21 cents to every $1,000 of assessed property value.

In May 2005, the Spokane Valley City Council voted 3-2 to provide $500,000 for curb-to-curb paving within several neighborhoods scheduled for septic tank removal. The allocation has been part of the city’s budget process ever since. In 2008, Spokane Valley provided $875,000 for full-width paving and drainage improvements as part of S.T.E.P.

“Instead of having a patched road, it results in a higher quality road,” Cooke said. “It’s an example of how governments can work together toward a better result.”

Worley said the city hopes to have “a significant portion” of the Pines/Mansfield project completed by winter. That list includes a new concrete intersection, an initial layer of asphalt on Mansfield and a roundabout.

Worley pointed to a pair of roundabouts in the city of Spokane and one in the Green Bluff area that “have improved safety conditions” by slowing down traffic. Another roundabout is being considered for a project in the area of Broadway and Flora.

Appleway Road ribbon cutting ceremony

While the roadwork continues in several parts of town, a $6 million overhaul of Appleway Road wrapped up last week with a ribbon cutting ceremony on Sept. 25.

Worley said the project – which included repaving and widening of the street, the addition of a 10-foot wide pedestrian/bike path and an intersection upgrade at Barker Road – benefited from the patience of business owners and motorists.