A segment of the North Spokane Corridor project that crosses the Spokane River is about two-thirds complete, says Washington state Department of Transportation project engineer Alex Proszek.

Most of the bridge girders have been installed, and the next step in the construction of the Spokane River Crossing bridge segment, which spans the river just north of Spokane Community College, involves reinforcing the girders. That work is expected to start in April.

The transportation department also is preparing to start work on a portion of the Children of the Sun Trail. 

"We also have a pedestrian bridge that we'll be installing this summer, and we're targeting a completion date of December this year," Proszek says.

Spokane-based Kuney Construction is the general contractor for both the Spokane River Crossing vehicle and pedestrian bridges, which will run parallel to one another.

Terrence Lynch, design engineer at WSDOT, says advertisements are out for Sprague Avenue-to-Spokane River stage three project, which involves building twin bridges for northbound and southbound traffic, each about 2,200 feet in length, between Sprague and Alki avenues.

Bid opening is scheduled for May, and work is anticipated to be underway by midsummer, Lynch says. 

"We're kind of going out of order," he notes. "We're going to try to get the Sprague Avenue to Alki section underway first, and then we'll come in and fill in the gap between Alki Avenue and Mission with the stage two project."

The Sprague Avenue-to-Spokane River stage two project will be advertised later this year, with construction likely to start in early 2026. That second phase involves the construction of a partial interchange at Trent Avenue and includes a complex design over the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway corridor, Lynch says.

Community engagement also is underway to determine the architectural features for the second and third phases.

"The artists did a good job of coming up with some imagery that reflects unity and togetherness ... to be applied on various elements of the bridge structures," says Lynch.

Once complete, the $1.5 billion North Spokane Corridor project will be a 10.5-mile connection between Interstate 90 and North Spokane. The project is over 70% complete and is on schedule to wrap up in 2030.