Felts Field taxiways among next phase of improvements

Nearly $8 million worth of work is planned for Felts Field this year and next to rehabilitate taxi lanes and make other improvements at the 1926 airport. That spending comes after $7.6 million was spent since 2012 on airport improvements.

The work is part of a strategy by the Spokane Airport Board and its staff to create airport facilities that will draw new businesses and economic development.

An announcement last week of a new 40,000-square-foot hangar at Felts Field is an example of what officials hope to attract to the airport, located along the Spokane River near Millwood. The new hangar will house Felts Field General Aviation Flight Center and the Honor Point Military and Aerospace Museum.

From 2012 through 2016, the airport board is using $4 million in local airport funds to leverage $11.5 million in grants from the Federal Aviation Administration in its airport improvement program.

The largest project will be a two-phase effort to rebuild three taxiways, 12 taxi lanes and a taxiway holding bay. The work will include asphalt removal, excavation, subsurface edge drains, new sub-base material, gravel shoulders, pavement markings, signs, lights, stormwater structures and other utilities.

T-O Engineers of Coeur d’Alene has designed the improvements, which are scheduled to go out for construction bids next month.

A $5 million federal grant is being paired with $1.7 million in local airport funds on that project.

Other projects this year are reconstruction of a seaplane dock, improvements to access control, and refurbishing of the second-floor office space at the historic 1932 air terminal. The air terminal work will be completed in 2016.

In addition, an irrigation system and improved turf are planned for grassy areas next year.

Since 2012, the airport has seen taxiway and ramp rehabilitation at $6.9 million; an airfield electrical regulator building at $361,000; terminal roofing, heating and air conditioning improvements at $203,000; and restroom upgrades in the terminal at $220,000.

Spokane projects

In Spokane, a repaving job on Monroe Street from Garland to Wellesley avenues is set to begin today. Drivers should anticipate lane closures.

• Elsewhere in the city, a water main project on Hamilton Street just north of Trent Avenue is set for Wednesday from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. on Thursday. Detours and lane closures will be in place.

• On South Grand Boulevard, city crews are replacing stormwater catch basins in the 2200 to 2500 blocks.

• Projects to improve crosswalks, curb ramps and sidewalks, plus signage, are being undertaken at Walnut Street and Seventh Avenue; Jackson Avenue from Perry to Columbus streets; Bernard Street from 29th to 31st avenues; and Rockwood Boulevard and Upper Terrace at Arthur Street.

Highway work

On state highways, crews continue to replace traffic signs on U.S. Highway 2 near Spokane International Airport.

• Work on the North Spokane Corridor near Freya Street’s roundabouts may result in short delays, but flaggers will be there to direct traffic as needed.

• Guard rail work on Interstate 90 is nearly completed.

Spokane Valley

In Spokane Valley, Adams Road from Trent to Wellesley avenues will be closed to through traffic today through Wednesday for paving. Also, Wellesley from Sullivan to Moore roads will have lane restrictions through Wednesday, also for paving.

• The same holds for Bowdish Road from 23rd to 24th avenues on Thursday and Friday where more paving is taking place.

• Sullivan Road is being reduced to a single lane of traffic at the bridge over the Spokane River. Also, southbound traffic is down to one lane from the Sullivan Park traffic light southward across the bridge. A new southbound bridge is being built to replace the 1951 structure, found to be structurally deficient in 2009.

Idaho items

In Idaho, studded tire season ends on April 30. It already ended on March 31 in Washington.

• Idaho Transportation Department maintenance crews will replace bridge joints on the Idaho 200 Hope Bridge starting next Monday. The bridge is on the outskirts of Coeur d’Alene. Drivers will be limited to one lane across the bridge during the initial work. Beginning May 11, the highway will be closed for a week as crews grind the driving surface. A detour will be set up using the Hope Business Loop.

• Reconstruction of a 4.5-mile-long stretch of Interstate 90 from Mullan to the Idaho-Montana state line is underway. The work, which includes Lookout Pass, has reduced traffic to one lane in each direction. The westbound lanes are being rebuilt this year, with work expected to conclude in late September. The project will resume in spring 2016 for reconstruction of the eastbound lanes. Crews are working Monday through Saturday, 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. Acme Concrete Paving of Spokane is the contractor on the $28.8 million project.