Getting There: City to embark on $9 million rebuild of Thor and Freya streets

First, the bad news: navigating Thor and Freya streets might take an extra bit of patience this summer.

But the good news?

Driving over the two east Spokane roads will no longer be a brain-rattling roller-coaster ride.

And after improvements to the moonscape-like road in 2022 – including a transition from asphalt to concrete – it could outlive us all.

“In essence, a concrete roadway has a much longer life than asphalt,” said Kyle Twohig, the city’s director of engineering services.

Freya and Thor streets will be completely rebuilt, headlining the city of Spokane’s plans for a constructive summer.

The project begins at Sprague Avenue and continues south, where it quickly splits into the separate one-way streets of Thor Street and Freya Street. The project will end at Hartson Avenue.

The soil beneath the road is among the most challenging the city faces, Twohig explained. Over geological ages, silt has tumbled down the hillside south of Interstate 90, resulting in a base atop which it is tricky to maintain a road.

Concrete has proven hardy when used elsewhere in the city, Twohig noted, such as at the corner of North Foothills Boulevard and Hamilton Street.

Of course, the material comes at a heavy upfront cost compared to an asphalt project. The estimated price tag of the city’s plan is $8.9 million.

But Twohig noted that the city is tapping into state and federal funds, totaling all but about $1 million of the cost, to help offset that burden. The hope is also that a more stable road surface will require fewer costly repairs in the future.

The project is expected to last six months, during which motorists may be frustrated. Depending on which road is being worked on at any given time, all traffic will be routed to its counterpart, which will temporarily turn into a two-way street.

“It’ll certainly be a real impact to the traveling public; that’s such a high-volume pair of arterials,” Twohig said.

Work at the intersections at Second and Third avenues will be delayed until 2023 in coordination with construction of the North Spokane Corridor.

Work to watch for

The south lane of Spokane Falls Boulevard will be closed between Post and Monroe streets from Wednesday to March 18 for utility work.

Riverside Avenue in downtown Spokane between Division and Browne streets, and between Browne and Bernard streets, is limited to one lane in each direction for City Line construction.