Getting There: 6-week project at Indiana Avenue and Sullivan Road in Spokane Valley could delay commute
Drivers on Indiana Avenue east of Sullivan Road in Spokane Valley will hit a slowdown starting Monday as crews begin tearing out asphalt and pouring concrete on an 800-foot section of road.
The intersection of Indiana Avenue and Sullivan already is concrete, and the new project will extend the concrete east on Indiana. That section of road is in poor condition, with potholes being patched and then reforming multiple times. It’s also riddled with extensive cracks, giving it a Pavement Condition Index rating of 32 out of a possible 100.
“For an arterial stretch of road, it’s rated as one of the worst roads in the city for an asphalt arterial,” said Public Works Director Bill Helbig.
The project is estimated to take six weeks. Although the total area is only 800 feet, laying concrete requires reinforcing and other extra steps, Helbig said. “There’s a lot of work that goes into concrete that doesn’t go into asphalt,” he said.
The city can start the project so late in the season because pouring concrete isn’t as dependent on the weather as laying asphalt, Helbig said. “That doesn’t have the weather dependency,” he said. “It was always planned to be late in the season after all the other asphalt projects were done.”
The city estimated the project would cost $1.6 million, but bids came in lower than expected. Cameron Reilly LLC was awarded the project after bidding $1.2 million. The funds are coming from the city’s Pavement Preservation Fund, which pays for a variety of road preservation projects.
Indiana Avenue just east of Sullivan Road will be down to one lane in each direction during construction. The Interstate 90 westbound off-ramp that connects to Indiana Avenue will be closed, but the westbound off-ramp that connects to Sullivan Road will remain open. Drivers will then be able to turn right onto Sullivan, which is normally prohibited there.
Businesses to the east of Sullivan Road will remain open and will be accessible. Several businesses, medical offices, hotels and apartment complexes are located just east of the construction site, so traffic on the road is normally heavy. Drivers should expect delays when going through the construction zone.