Results of the Washington state Department of Transportations latest cost estimate to finish constructing the North Spokane Corridor wont be published until January, but DOT officials here say that report will project a more than $1 billion cost increase above the agencys last published estimate in 2004.


The inflation-adjusted estimate to build over the next 20 years whats commonly called the north-south freeway has jumped 50 percent to $3.3 billion from a $2.2 billion estimate made two years ago, says Larry Larson, DOTs project engineer for the partially completed freeway.


Although DOT maintains an ongoing cost estimate for the North Spokane Corridor project, at least every two years it brings together industry and DOT experts to check the accuracy of those calculations.


Employing whats called the cost estimation validation process, a total of about 16 private-industry and DOT experts met here in November, and DOT plans to publish its findings next month, Larson says.


Jerry Lenzi, DOTs regional director here says, I think $3.3 billion isnt a bad number. The point is, it wont get any cheaper.


He says hes confident that the final cost of the 10.2-mile freeway and a 3.5- mile access collector-distribution system along Interstate 90 will be less than $4 billion at the maximum.


Larson says the report also will include an estimate of the cost to build the freeway at todays construction prices, without inflation added into the equation, although that method provides unrealistic figures.


He says Januarys report will estimate the cost to complete the project at todays prices at $2.2 billion, up from $1.3 billion in 2004.


Increasing prices for building materials such as concrete, steel, and asphalt, due partly to higher demand for those products caused by continuing restoration work following Hurricane Katrina as well as several big transportation projects in Oregon, Idaho, and Utah, have bumped up projected costs for the North Spokane Corridor project, he says.


Yet, Larson says, We are already seeing signs of stabilization in those markets.


The north-south freeway is designed to carry eight lanes of traffic from I-90 to Francis Avenue, six lanes of traffic from Francis to U.S. 2, and four lanes of traffic from U.S. 2 to U.S. 395, Lenzi says.


Both Larson and Lenzi are confident that the overall project, which Lenzi says dates as far back as 1946 when the north-south freeway concept first was proposed, will be completed within the next 20 years.


Lenzi says, I think it will be constructed and finished by 2025. Twenty more years is a pretty leisurely pace for us. Yet, my biggest concern is that we have adequate cash flow for construction.


To date, DOT has received $221 million of state money from the nickel gas tax fund for the project, and it has been promised another $70 million next year by the Legislature from a state funding source thats still to be determined, says Lenzi.


That $291 million primarily is for work on initial phases of the project north of Francis that are scheduled for completion in 2011, he says.


Yet, the $291 million is still $17 million shy of the latest projected cost to complete the work from Francis to U.S. 395, at Wandermere, he says. Figures in the report to be released next month put that cost at $308 million. In 2003, the Legislature gave the DOT $189 million in nickel gas tax funds with the thought that it would be enough to complete the project from Francis to Wandermere, says Lenzi.


In 2005, the Legislature allocated $152 million in state Transportation Partnership Act money for the project. That money, however, is earmarked mostly for land acquisition and design work, and will be doled out over a 16-year period, Lenzi says. Plans are to use those dollars primarily south of Francis, and theyre not included in the $291 million allocated for work between Francis and Wandermere, he says.


Federal participation small


Larson says the federal government has contributed a little less than $20 million for the corridor, and that money has been used mostly for the purchase of right of way and environmental work.


Larson says the freeway project is broken into eight stages. The first two stages include work north of Francis, and money for most of that work has been appropriated. Where money will come from to complete the other six stages isnt known yet, he says.


Thats a function of the Legislature, Larson says. We have to rely on them to secure our funding.


Lenzi says the North Spokane Corridor will have more of a voice than in the past when transportation dollars are distributed by state lawmakers next year. He says Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown lives here, as do members of both the House and Senate transportation committees. That will put us at the table, he says.


Lenzi says there are general priorities for the work ahead.


Our strategy is multi-pronged, but our first goal is to build what we said wed build north of Francis by 2011, he says. Major efforts after that work is completed, in order, will include constructing the freeway from Francis south to the Spokane River, building the collector-distribution system along I-90, then finally connecting the freeway from the Spokane River to the collector-distribution system, he says.


Larson says a 3.5-mile stretch of improvements will be done for the collector-distribution system along or near I-90 between Hamilton Street and Sprague Avenue near Fancher Way and is a very expensive part of the project.


Larson says the North Spokane Corridor will be designated as U.S. 395, while Division Street north of I-90, currently designated as U.S. 395 and U.S. 2, will be designated solely as U.S. 2.


Elevated on and off ramps connecting the new freeway with I-90 will extend for up to a half-mile both east and west of the Thor-Freya interchange, he says. Plus, Second and Third avenues, which parallel I-90 on either side of that stretch, will be expanded from two lanes to three lanes, and both will be parts of the collector system. They will continue to be one-way streets, says Larson. The current Altamont exit on that stretch of I-90 will be eliminated, he says.


Larson and Lenzi say theyre in the preliminary stages of developing a strategy on how to ask the Legislature for additional corridor funding next year.


Larson says he doesnt know if theyll ask for money to make a push from Francis to Wellesley Avenue, or try another approach.


Still, he says, I believe the Legislature will continue to fund money for the project in various degrees depending on their priorities.


Contact Rocky Wilson at (509) 344-1264 or via e-mail at rockyw@spokanejournal.com.