Getting There: Pines Road to undergo widening to accommodate new apartment complex in Spokane Valley

Approximately 700 feet of Pines Road between Mansfield and Marietta avenues will undergo construction to install a center turn lane, a new parking lot entrance and upgrades to existing lot entrances beginning Monday.

Travelers on Pines during this time should expect lane closures, reduced speed zones and traffic delays, according to a news release.

The construction is part of a private project funded by the Hayden-based Whitewater Creek Inc. to install 12 buildings and approximately 300 new apartments, said a news release by the city of Spokane Valley. The complex will be called Mirabeau Place Apartments.

The co-owner and project manager of Whitewater Creek Inc., Todd Prescott, did not respond to requests for comment on the project.

Amlik Singh, the manager of Sam’s Stop and Shop, a gas station on the corner of Pines and Mansfield, said the road has been a problem for some customers in the past. There is currently a memorial in front of their building, honoring a motorcyclist who lost their life in a crash there.

Area resident Stephen Finch, 34, said he has witnessed multiple accidents along Pines in the five years he has lived there, including the one involving the motorcycle.

“It can be problematic sometimes,” he said of the road.

Finch walks down Pines Road to work every day. He said the sidewalks are dangerous, and that he has witnessed drivers slamming on their brakes to avoid hitting pedestrians. He hopes the addition of a center lane on the road will ease congestion and make the stretch safer.

“If they’re widening up the road and putting in a center lane, I believe it will be a benefit to the neighborhood,” Finch said. “But I do believe that the construction in the meantime will be a pain.”

The construction is estimated to be complete by the end of October, the news release stated.

Other road closures and delays in Spokane County this week include:

• Bigelow Gulch Road: closed for improvements from Havana Street to Orchard Prairie Road.
• Brooks Road: closed for improvements from Thorpe Road to U.S. Route 2.
• Little Spokane Drive: closed from Perry to Woolard roads as a new bridge is constructed over the Little Spokane River.
• Zephyr Road: closed for improvements from Lakeside Road on for the remainder of the season.
• Farwell Road: closed from U.S. Route 2 to Shady Slope Road for sewer and water main installation.
• Conklin Road: closed from 32nd Avenue to Saltese Road for water main tie-in.
• Market Street: closed for Comcast Cable pole maintenance from Francis Avenue to Private Road.
• Fairview Road: closed to replace waterline from Overview Drive to Mercer Lane and from Stoneman Road to Sorrel Avenue.
• Red Roan Drive: closed from Overview Circle to Overview Circle (a loop) to replace waterline.
• Sorrel Avenue: closed from Stoneman to Fairview roads to replace waterline.
• Freya Street: closed from roundabout to Francis Avenue to pave the roundabout.
• Chronicle Road: closed for utility work from Fairview to Grace avenues.
• 37th Avenue: closed from Spokane city limits to Glenrose Road for off-site water construction.
• Brooklawn Drive: closed from Greenleaf Drive to Columbus Street for water main replacement.
• Houghton Avenue: delays from Crestline to Regal streets as asphalt is poured for roadway preservation.
• Houston Avenue: delays from Regal to Market streets, for above reason.
• Wilding Avenue: delays from Regal to Market streets, for above reason.
• Betz Road: delays from Andrus Road to Cheney city limits as road is given new chip seal coat.
• Ritchey Road: delays from Espanola to Hallet roads, for above reason.