Getting There: Funding for Liberty Park land bridge included in state budget proposals, but design still likely years away
OLYMPIA – When Spokane City Councilwoman Betsy Wilkerson imagines the land bridge that may one day connect East Central with the rest of the city, she imagines a green space – something she said the neighborhood currently lacks.
The bridge, located near Liberty Park, would be wide and well lit. Ideally, it would have benches and some shelter in case it’s raining.
In 2021, the state set aside $4 million for the design of the bridge, which community members say will help right some of the historical damage done when Interstate 90 was built. That funding is still included in proposed budgets released by House and Senate Democrats this week. The Washington State Department of Transportation also received a $5 million federal infrastructure grant to use on the land bridge and two other projects across the state.
But the design process on the land bridge has been slow to start.
“I’m getting no real sense of urgency,” Wilkerson said.
Ryan Overton, spokesperson at the Washington State Department of Transportation, said the department is about to start the community outreach portion of the project, something they consider essential in ensuring the project will help the community.
Most of the engagement will be done online, through surveys or feedback on specific design options, Overton said.
Once the outreach is done, design can start but Overton said it still may take another four to five years.
The importance of building a land bridge in Spokane has only become more essential following the removal of the Magnolia Street pedestrian bridge, Wilkerson said.
Overton said the department can’t accelerate the project even if they wanted to because part of the construction of the land bridge is dependent on completion of other connections with the North Spokane Corridor, which are still being designed.
Design is currently being finalized for how to realign 2nd and 3rd avenues, which will determine how the land bridge can be built.
Wilkerson acknowledged that building a land bridge is “a long game.”
“I understand development but really for East Central to thrive, both neighborhoods need each other,” Wilkerson said.
Building a land bridge to reconnect East Central is one project in a larger effort to right the wrongs created by the construction of Interstate 90. The Legislature passed a law last year that allows the Department of Transportation to lease land it owns surrounding the highway back to the community, which can use it for housing, parks or other revitalization projects.
The Liberty Park land bridge and the lease program were two projects that Senate Majority Leader Andy Billig, D-Spokane, said at the time would help heal and boost a neighborhood that has been severely impacted by transportation projects.
The Legislature also created a grant program, now named in honor of Spokane activist Sandy Williams, that funds pedestrian and bicycle projects across current and former state highways.
Other Spokane projects included in proposed transportation budgetsHouse and Senate Democrats have each released their own transportation budget proposals, which will need to be consolidated into one by the end of the legislative session on April 23. The House proposal spends about $13.6 billion over the next two years, while the Senate proposal spends about $12.9 billion over the next two years.
Both budgets prioritize continual funding of large highway projects, such as the North Spokane Corridor, improving traffic safety, investing in the ferry system and increasing projects that focus on reducing carbon emissions, such as pedestrian and transit projects.
Both proposals use revenue from the state’s new cap-and-trade program, which charges high polluters if they can’t clean up their work. The House and the Senate use the funding slightly differently in their budgets, but projects that would be funded include electrifying ferries and state vehicles, giving rebates for e-bike purchases and allowing kids under 18 to ride transit for free.
Both proposals would also fund safety cameras in work zones to check speeds for cars driving through construction zones and recruitment incentives for Washington State Patrol troopers.
Under both proposals, funding for the North Spokane Corridor is restored, following concerns that it would be paused after Gov. Jay Inslee’s proposed budgets pushed back funding for four years. The current completion date for the project is 2030, accounting for possible workforce and supply shortages.
The Division Street rapid bus transit line proposal retained the funding set aside by the Legislature last year. The project would create a rapid bus transit line along Division Street, following the removal of heavy traffic and freight travel once the North Spokane Corridor is finished.
Both budgets would give the Spokane Transit Authority $50 million over the next 16 years to complete the project.
Other projects in Spokane that are funded include Millwood Trail improvements, design for the Division Street bus rapid transit line, continued electrification of the Spokane Transit fleet and construction on the Spokane International Airport Transload Rail Facility.
The Millwood Trail would get $5.8 million through 2027 under both proposals.
Millwood Mayor Kevin Freeman said state and federal funds would be used to continue work on a multimodal project for bicyclists, pedestrians, car traffic and rail safety.
Funding is needed for a dedicated crosswalk near the urban trail in Millwood with hopes that it would eventually link with Spokane, to provide left-turn refuges for cars along Argonne Road and increase rail safety through new, relocated signals at rail crossings.
All of the projects, once complete, would be “a real positive” for the city and the whole region, Freeman said, but they have come across a number of road blocks over the years with land use and loss of funding because of delays.
“There’s a large vision,” he said. “We’re trying to do the best with the circumstances we have.”
Work to watch for
Post Street is currently closed between Spokane Falls Boulevard and the Post Street bridge to accommodate roof work on Spokane City Hall. It is expected to reopen in mid-June.
Main Avenue traveling east downtown will be reduced to one lane this week between Browne and Division streets for work on the City Line bus rapid transit system. Parking will be affected.
Strong Road between Five Mile and Austin roads will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday for water service work.
Thorpe Road between Marshall Road and Westwood Lane will be closed from Tuesday through April 10 for installation of new water main valves.