Getting there: Large construction projects persist countywide, creating delays as crews forge on

Flaggers, detours, delays – oh my! The county and city of Spokane are working through the summer on a number of construction projects on local roadways.

Bigelow Gulch Road

Bigelow Gulch Road remains closed from Havana Street to Orchard Prairie Road. It’s open to local traffic only; otherwise, drivers coming from Spokane are detoured north onto Market Street, west onto Peone Road and south to Bruce Road.

The finale of a 20-year-long effort to straighten the once-winding Bigelow Gulch Road that stretches 8 miles from East Valley High School to Hillyard on the scenic road continues.

It’s one of the last phases to punctuate a project split into nine parts. In order to straighten the road, crews are clearing the adjacent areas of brush and other debris, excavating existing roadway, compacting adjacent embankments and laying cement.

The project has racked up a bill of more than $81 million over its two-decade span. Some of those funds went toward the purchase of land strips needed to straighten the road, mitigating environmental impacts to nearby wetlands and addressing other surprises that have popped up over the years.

Brooks Road

Brooks Road is being similarly widened and straightened, a stretch closed from Thorpe Road to U.S. Highway 2. The county expects this project to wrap at the end of September. The county has detours in place, with local access only on the closed stretch.

Hatch Road

Hatch Road is closed from Midway Road to Bridle Trail, open to local access only with detours in place. The county expects it to reopen in mid-October. Hatch Road is undergoing the first phase of a full road reconstruction. Pedestrian safety improvements include a 10-foot-wide multi-use paved path to the west of the road between Midway and Ballard Road.

The stretch is also slated for improvements in lighting, signage, accessibility ramps, crosswalks and a pedestrian island at Ballard Road. The island will be temporary to begin with but will be replaced with a permanent island in the second phase of the project.

Stormwater projects

Crews will be installing basins and grates that catch debris as rain and other stormwater moves through the gutter, rock-lined infiltration trenches along roadways and also will be replacing some grates along four residential stretches in the county. The county expects these projects to wrap by the end of October.

In Vera, 11th Avenue from Moen Road to Crescent Drive will have flaggers to direct traffic while crews make improvements.

North of Mead, flaggers will be stationed on Cincinnati Drive from Pinecone Court to Unnamed Court.

Drivers can also expect flaggers at Rainier Way in Town and Country, between Cascade Way to Calispel Court.

Waikiki Road at Hemlock Street, near the Little Spokane River, is slated for construction.

Chip seal – expect delays

Travelers on the following streets may want to exercise patience as crews install new road surfaces: applying oil to the road surface and rolling road chip rock over. Construction may involve flaggers and a pilot vehicle as crews close lanes in either direction.

• Craig Road from Tepee to Lincoln Road, expected to complete on Monday.
• Garfield Road from Lincoln Road to Seven Mile Road, expected to last through Wednesday.
• Lincoln Road from Craig Road to Garfield Road, expected to last through Monday.
• Dover Road from Four Mount Road to Charles Road, expected to last from Tuesday to Thursday.
• Long Lake Road from Charles Road to the Lincoln County Line, expected to last from Thursday to Aug. 27.
• South Bank Road from Valley Road to Charles Road, expected to last through Thursday.
• Tepee Road from Rambo Road to Craig Road, expected to last through Tuesday.
• West Shore Road, from the north end to Charles Road, expected to last from Tuesday through Friday.

Work to watch for in county

Little Spokane Drive is closed from Perry Road to the bridge over Little Spokane River, as is Little Spokane Drive from Woolard Road to the bridge over Little Spokane River. The county is replacing the bridge and expects construction to complete at the end of November.

Zephyr Road is closed from Lakeside Road to the south end for the summer park season, expected to reopen mid-September.

Conklin Road is closed from 32nd Avenue to Saltese Road on Wednesday between 7 to 11 a.m.

Red Road Drive is closed at overview drive.

Sorrel Avenue is closed from Stonemen to Fairview Road.

Brooklawn Drive is closed from Greenleaf Drive to Columbus Street.

Clubhouse Road is closed from Sprague to First Avenue.

Work to watch for in Spokane

Ash Street is closed between Dean Avenue and Broadway Avenue.

Shannon Avenue is closed between Washington Street and Division Street.

The Centennial Trail at the north end of the Maple Street Bridge is closed, the city expects it to reopen Thursday.

Cheney-Spokane Road is closed between Latah Bistro and Cedar Road.

Hartson Avenue is closed between Ralph and Greene Street.

Ray Street is closed between Hartson Avenue and 11th Avenue.

Third Avenue is closed between Thor and Freya streets and will expand to Thor and Rebecca streets Tuesday. The city has set a detour from Hartson Avenue to Havana Street; drivers can access eastbound Interstate 90 via Third Avenue.

The eastbound I-90 Exit 283B Thor/Freya off-ramp remains closed.

The Washington Stevens Bridge is closed, drivers are detoured southbound on Washington Street at North River Drive and northbound on Washington Street at Spokane Falls Boulevard.

Upriver Drive is closed between Ralph Street and the Carlisle Spur, expected to reopen at the end of September.

Wall Street will be closed between Spokane Falls Boulevard and Main Avenue on Saturdays from 2 to 10 p.m.

Summit Parkway will be closed between Cedar Street and Adams Lane on Wednesdays from noon to 10 p.m. for the Kendall Yards night market.

Joe Albi Way will be closed between Howard and Washington Street for the Great Outdoors Comedy Festival from 7 a.m. on Friday to 9 a.m. on Aug. 26.

South Riverton Avenue is closed between Ermina Avenue and Fiske Street.

Eastbound Upriver Drive is closed from Ralph Street to under the Greene Street Bridge until Aug. 30.

Ralph Street is closed between Carlisle Avenue and Euclid Avenue until Aug. 30.