Freeway future stays uncertain

For students from cities with heavy traffic such as Los Angeles or Seattle, Spokane is a nice change. However, for Spokane natives, the drive north can be a major headache.
No freeway exists to travel north-south; Spokane's lone major freeway, I-90, runs east-west. Although a north-south freeway has been planned for many years, the city didn't break ground on the project until August of 2001.

Eight years later, only a small northern portion of the freeway connecting northern Spokane to I-90 had been completed. The 3.7-mile segment connecting Francis Avenue to Farwell Road opened to limited traffic in 2009, with one lane in each direction.

Al Gilson, a Department of Transportation Public Information Official, talked about the current conditions of the North Spokane Corridor.

"Currently, all north-south traffic in Spokane travels on surface arterials. This amounts to hundreds of thousands of vehicle trips per day, including several thousand long-haul freight trucks every day. Traveling on these routes, such as Division Street or Freya/Market/Greene can take upwards of 40 minutes to crawl through north Spokane in stop-and-go traffic. The north freeway fully completed, reduces travel time to about 10 minutes for the same 10-mile distance," Gilson said.

Last week, U.S. Sen. Patty Murray announced a $35 million federal stimulus grant to extend work on a North Spokane freeway.

"This grant provides the construction funding for the full southbound portion of that segment. When construction is completed in late 2011, that section will have three lanes in each direction on a fully divided freeway facility. In addition, when the two construction projects now underway just to the north are completed in late 2011, traffic will be flowing on nearly six miles of the 10.5-mile route, connecting to existing U.S. 395 near the Wandermere Golf Course," Gilson said.

While progress seems slow on the project, thousands of hours and millions of dollars have already been spent on the project. As of now, there is no foreseeable completion date of the project, as much of the plan depends on prices of resources.

"With just over $600 million allocated to date, including the recent grant, the project will be about half finished. A little over $1.5 billion in work remains, including right-of-way purchases, design, and construction. If those dollars were available today, it would take about 10 years to complete the NSC. The exact time frame is dependent on the availability of funding. Funding allocation decisions are made by the Washington State Legislature and the U.S. Congress, with the Washington State Department of Transportation and private contractors designing and building the projects," Gilson said.

Junior Spokane native Jennifer Crabtree was unaware of the new freeway being built in Spokane, as many are, but could potentially be one of the many commuters who use the freeway once it is completed.

When not living at her house near campus, Crabtree's permanent address is in the north of Spokane.

Crabtree does not enjoy her drive home due to the heavy traffic on Division. "I don't like it, there is too much traffic on Division and Francis and I think the speed limit is too slow. I try and avoid those two streets because they are usually backed up and people drive slow, so I usually take back roads," she said.

"I think, if this new freeway ever does get done, it will lessen the traffic on Division and make a much quicker commute home making my drive a lot easier," Crabtree said. "I like driving on the freeway better than driving on Division; I just wish I-90 went north."

Students and Spokane natives alike should be aware that once the north/south freeway begins construction in more populated areas of the city, transportation in those areas could become difficult. Constructing the I-90 interchange will reach all the way from Hamilton to Fancher.

Once construction is finally complete, traveling in Spokane will become far more efficient.