State and local government agencies plan transportation projects in the Spokane area over the next three years that could add up to as much as $220 million in work.


That total, from the Spokane Regional Transportation Councils recently adopted transportation improvement program, is almost 7 percent higher than the $206 million in projects on SRTCs list for the 1997-1999 period, which was compiled two years ago.


The newly adopted list includes projects for 1999-2001 that havent moved forward, such as the $29.2 million Lincoln Street Bridge project; continuing projects, such as $47.2 million for additional improvements to Interstate 90 near the Sprague Avenue interchange; and new projects, such as $2 million for a handful of hybrid-electric Spokane Transit Authority buses to replace diesel buses.


Its a good document to see how money is directed in the Spokane area, Glenn Miles, transportation manager for SRTC, says of the list. SRTC coordinates local transportation planning here.


To be placed on the list, projects ranging from new city sidewalks to large highway projects and new bridges must have received a commitment for funding or have potential funding available, Miles says. To be eligible for federal funding, projects must be on the list.


Numbers have been refined on some of the projects since the previous list was published, and some projects have advanced to a later stage.


Major road projects planned on Trent Avenue, University and Sullivan roads, and Ray Street are in the program, as is the first construction on the long-planned Spokane Valley couplet.


Interstate 90 upgrades


About $47.2 million is listed to continue improvements to I-90 between the Sprague interchange, which already is undergoing an upgrade, and Argonne Road. A $29 million project set for 2000 would add another westbound lane and a merging lane to I-90 between Broadway Avenue and Custer Road. It also would include a bridge to carry the westbound freeway lanes over Sprague and Union Pacific Railroad tracks, as well as final ramp connections to Fancher Road and the planned Valley couplet from the Sprague interchange. The other $18.2 million would be spent to build an additional eastbound lane and one more westbound lane on I-90 between Broadway and Argonne and a new five-lane bridge to carry Park Road over the freeway. Although the list says the project is planned for next year, DOT spokesman Al Gilson says its not yet fully funded. An eastbound lane and a merging lane between Custer and Broadway is part of the interchange work being done now, and new bridges are being built to carry the freeways eastbound lanes over Sprague and the UP railroad tracks.


The list also includes $21.2 million for construction of the planned Evergreen Road interchange on I-90. The money comes from national highway system funds and state and local sources, including private developers with holdings in the area.


An interchange modification is planned at Harvard Road, with almost $2.2 million allocated to buy right of way next year and $1.4 million earmarked for construction of a realigned westbound off-ramp scheduled for 2000. The Pines Road interchange is slated for about $1 million worth of safety improvements in 1999 that would help drivers headed north on Pines to make left turns and head west on the freeway.


I-90 in the Spokane Valley also is the site of a $4.6 million project to solve problems with stormwater drainage, Gilson says. Engineering is expected to start on that project next year, with right-of-way purchases and construction in the following year. Several smaller drainage improvement projects are planned elsewhere along the interstate here.


About $3.9 million is listed in the program to buy video cameras, vehicle counters, and other equipment. The gear will be part of an Intelligent Transportation System of monitoring devices and reader-board signs thats being developed to inform motorists of traffic conditions on I-90 between U.S. 195 and the Pines Road interchange. Part of the system already is operating.


Elsewhere, DOT is considering a project to transform the Thorpe Road-U.S. 195 intersection into an interchange so traffic on Thorpe wouldnt have to cross highway traffic on busy state Route 195. Gilson says an on-going 195-corridor study hasnt yet determined if an interchange would be the best option to solve that problem. If that alternative is chosen, $5.4 million of design work and right-of-way acquisition would start next year.


Some work on the proposed north-south freeway might gear up next year, with about $5.1 million listed for preliminary activity. About $2 million of that is set aside for obtaining right of way along the North Spokane corridor of U.S. 395, and the rest of the money would fund design work for another part of the proposed new route just east of Market Street and between Francis Avenue and Hawthorne Road.


DOT also lists plans to add a center-turning lane to Trent between Fancher and Sullivan. That project, which would involve widening about six miles of Trent, is expected to cost slightly more than $7 million, and could start next summer.


County plans Valley projects


According to the list, Spokane County plans about $9.5 million in outlays in the next two years on the Valley couplet, which will involve construction of a new eastbound arterial on First Avenue and Second Avenue (if extended) and conversion of Sprague to a one-way street for traffic traveling west. Construction of the couplet from the Sprague interchange to Dishman Road, a $7.3 million step, is set for next year, as is the $1.3 million leg from Dishman to University. Another $615,000 is set aside for preliminary engineering in 1999 and right-of-way acquisition in 2000 for the stretch from University to Evergreen. About $224,000 worth of engineering work for the portion between Evergreen and Sullivan is planned for 2000. Ross Kelley, assistant county engineer, says the county plans to continue such steps until the couplet is built from the Sprague interchange all the way to Liberty Lake.


The county also plans to widen University between Mission and Main avenues to three lanes and to add curbs and sidewalks. Design work for that nearly $2 million project should start next year, along with purchase of right of way. Construction is to follow in 2000.


Sullivan Road is slated for a $3.4 widening between 16th and 32nd avenues in 1999. It will be rebuilt with five lanes, curbs, and sidewalks.


Bigelow Gulch Road is targeted for a nearly $4 million project over the next three years that includes widening and some realignment. Kelley says work is scheduled to start in the Palmer Curve area, the first curve on Bigelow Gulch Road east of the city limits. There, the road will be straightened somewhat and widened to four lanes.


The county also hopes to get funding for a $1.6 million project on Mission, Kelley says. Mission would be widened to three lanes from near McDonald Road to Sullivan and would cross the new, wider Evergreen Road via an overpass.


The county has applied for $3.2 million to improve Prairie View Road, which has become an important grain-hauling route near the countys southern border for growers around Latah and Waverly, Kelley says. Although not yet funded, the project would remove curves and improve the roadbed to withstand traffic from heavy grain trucks between U.S. 195 and Spring Valley Road.


Light rail and electric buses


Spokane Transit Authority (STA) has set aside slightly more than $1 million to buy about 15 acres of abandoned railroad right of way between Havana Street and Fancher Road from Union Pacific Railroad next year. Allen Schweim, STAs executive director, says the land would be a critical piece of right of way for a high-capacity transit project, such as a proposed light-rail system, and also could be used to provide a site for a passenger station. An SRTC study last year identified that area as a good spot for a station.


Its in the commun-itys interest to buy it now and preserve it, Schweim says. Its cheaper than if we wait and have to buy it back from multiple owners later.


The STA money is allocated in addition to $1 million recently approved by Congress for design work on a light-rail system between downtown Spokane and Liberty Lake.


STA also has listed $2.2 million for buying hybrid-electric vehicles to replace five diesel buses in the year 2000. Schweim says the transit agency has been considering alternative-fuel options for its buses for several years and has been setting aside seed money so that when viable technology became affordable, it could buy fuel-efficient buses. A model being considered, which is now an expensive prototype, uses a diesel generator to power buses with electricity. Such a power plant reduces emissions because the engine that powers the generator runs at a constant speed rather than frequently accelerating, slowing, and idling, as conventional bus engines must.


Nearly $1.4 million is listed in the SRTC program for engineering and obtaining right of way for an operating base in the northeast part of Spokane where STA could keep and service buses. Schweim says the area north of Francis Avenue and east of Division Street is growing rapidly, and much of the growth is fairly high density and generates a lot of transit ridership. STA would like to build a garage in that area, similar to one it has now in the Spokane Valley near University Road, so buses wouldnt have to travel from STAs main facility on Boone Avenue to serve the area. STA is looking at real estate and its capital plan to determine the best option for such a facility, Schweim says.


He adds that plans for that operating base may be linked to plans to build a transit center in the same area. That $1.7 million transit center would be similar to one at University Road and Third Avenue in the Valley. STA expects to acquire 2.5 acres of land and start preliminary engineering for the northeast-Spokane transit center next year, with construction getting under way in 2000.


The STA also is considering putting another transit center that would serve as a transfer point somewhere on the south side of its service area. Schweim says STA is studying the South Hill area and beyond to determine where people live and where they want to go, so it can find the best way to serve them. About $1.3 million is in the plan for engineering and obtaining a site for that project in 2000, with construction scheduled later.


STA also has $850,000 listed to create four superstops, which would be hybrids between a local bus stop and a transit center that would serve neighborhoods with high bus use. Each superstop would be tailored to fit local needs and, in addition to providing space for several buses and passenger shelters, might include commuter parking and conveniences such as ATMs or postal drop boxes. The first superstop, planned for construction next year, will be on state Route 904 in Cheney, and will be built in a joint project with the city of Cheney, which will have other facilities there. Engineering and construction could start next year on a superstop on the downtown-Spokane periphery, such as at the Riverpoint Higher Education Park or near Gonzaga University, and one near Spokane Falls Community College, as work to secure funding continues, Schweim says.


City projects


A $3.7 million city-proposed project for improvements to Ray Street between 14th and 37th avenues is set to start next year. It would include reconstruction of the street from 29th Avenue to 35th Avenue and modification of intersections at 17th, 27th, 29th, and 35th avenues. Concrete intersections would be installed where 17th and 29th avenues cross Ray.


The city also proposes a $1.2 million extension of Southeast Boulevard that would link the streets current endpoint at 31st Avenue to 34th Avenue near its intersection with Regal Street. The work should start next spring, says Jerry Sinclair, a senior engineer with the city.


Another project that could potentially start next year involves realigning an unusual crossover between Euclid and Frederick avenues at Freya Street, and repaving Euclid from Freya to Market. Other safety improvements, such as left-turn lanes and signal modifications, would be added in that area.