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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Spin Control

Snip-snip: N. Spokane Corridor photo op today

Break out the giant scissors. We're having a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the North Spokane Corridor.

Make that another ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Today at 11 a.m., the powers that be will be holding a "Celebration of Progress" for the much-discussed roadway, a thoroughfare so deeply ingrained in the Spokane mythos that Mike Lowry once said that the oldest politician was the one who could claim the oldest date when he first made a speech mentioning what was then called the North-South freeway.

The celebration is to mark the opening of the northern half of the corridor. So that would be the North North Spokane Corridor, presumably.

This being an election year, the celebration will include politicians, including Sen. Maria Cantwell and Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, who disagree on many things, but not on whether the roadway deserves federal money.

It's at 11 a.m., where the corridor intersects with Parksmith Road. For directions, go inside the blog. (One interesting thing to note in the directions: "The event cannot be reached from the North Spokane Corridor. You must use Market Street.)

Let's hope the scissors have been sharpened, because nothing ruins a good photo op like a ribbon that refuses to be cut.

Directions:      From Interstate 90, take the Thor/Freya exit (Exit 283B) just east of downtown Spokane and travel north on Freya Street. Continue north on Freya as it turns into Greene Street near Spokane Community College. After crossing the Spokane River and climbing a short hill, Greene becomes Market Street and passes through the historic Hillyard Business District. Continue north on Market to Hawthorne Road.  Turn left onto Hawthorne Road.  At the next stop sign (where Hawthorne meets Parksmith), turn right and the flagger will direct you past the lineup of classic cars to the event site.  The event site cannot be reached from the North Spokane Corridor freeway lanes.  You must use Market Street.



The Spokesman-Review's political team keeps a critical eye on local, state and national politics.