In a potential project that eventually could cost tens of millions of dollars and help ease traffic congestion here, Spokane County wants to study developing a northwest connector that would link North Division to the West Plains area, with important connections there at Interstate 90 and U.S. 2.

Although an exact route for the connector hasn't been determined, county engineers are envisioning part of it as a two-lane, east-west arterial that would run between Division, just north of Whitworth University, and state Route 291, near Sundance Golf Course. That route then would swing to the south where part of Inland Road and Old Trails Road would go if extended to connect with Hayford Road and ultimately the Medical Lake interchange of I-90.

Spokane County Commissioner Mark Richard says the ultimate cost for such a project would depend on which of two or three possible routes were selected for it. If the route were built along roads that already are in place, the project could cost less than the $56 million Bigelow Gulch-Forker Road connector project, but if it's built along an alignment that required purchasing a lot of right of way, it could approach or exceed that cost, he says.

Such a project would provide long-term benefits to the county, Richard says.

"I personally am a strong supporter of what we call a beltway. It allows reduced emissions, traffic congestion, better wear and tear on the road," Richard says, adding that the county also has received support from the Washington state Department of Transportation for such a project.

In the northern part of the project, the east-west arterial likely would pass north of the Indian Trail area, while farther south the northwest connector would cross the Spokane River somewhere between the current Seven Mile and Nine Mile bridges. It probably would have a link with Seven Mile Road to the east.

The county is seeking $850,000 from the state to study the northwest connector project.

County contract engineer Chad Coles says the county long has considered pursuing such a project, which he says would help ease traffic congestion on arterials in the city, including on the Maple-Ash Corridor and Francis Street.

"The DOT has a serious congestion problem on Francis heading north to Suncrest," Coles says. "The only way to get to get to North Spokane (from I-90) is to go to downtown Spokane and head north on one of the arterial surface streets."

Roads in the vicinity of the east-west arterial part of the route wouldn't be suitable for such a project without a great deal of work to revise them, so it's likely new roads would be built for that leg of the connector, Coles says. He says some portions of the roads in the north-south leg of the route currently are dirt roads akin to "cow trails."

A previous study, done by the county in the 1990s, called "Connecting our Communities," identified a number of possible new arterial routes in the county, and a northwest connector, along with the Bigelow Gulch-Forker Road corridor northeast of the city, was identified as having the greatest potential benefit to the community, he says.

The county has considered funding a study of the northwest connector for some time, and put a request for study funds on its legislative priorities list for this year, Coles says.

In the currently envisioned alignment, the county would need to acquire right of way to build the road between Division and state Route 291, Coles says. The study would help determine the cost of such a project, as well as examine alternative options, he says. The county is working with the Spokane Regional Transportation Council to help it identify funding sources for the potential project, Coles says.

If the county receives the money for the study, it will analyze possible alignments, study the potential environmental impacts, solicit comment from the public and other governmental entities, and develop a range of alternatives and possible project costs, Coles says.

The idea, he says, wouldn't be to create a high-speed, limited access corridor like the planned North Spokane Corridor, but rather a 35- to 45-mile-an-hour arterial. The idea with such connector-type projects is to reduce the "pass-through traffic" so drivers don't have to travel through downtown to get from the North Side to the West Plains or to go in the other direction, Coles says.