SPOKANE, Wash. — A transportation project in Spokane that is decades in the making is closer to completion and hopefully in its last decade. By the Washington Department of Transportation’s estimate, the North Spokane Corridor is slated to be ready to drive on by 2030.
The North Spokane Corridor (NSC) is a 10.5-mile freeway promising to alleviate congestion on arterials and get people north and south faster than any other routes. When it is complete, it will connect I-90 near the existing Thor/Freya interchange to the US 2 at Farwell Road and US 395 at Wandermere.
With a little more than five years left to go, KREM 2 found out what’s been done so far and what's next for the NSC in the final stretch. "The finish line is in sight. I mean, you know, you can just about see I-90 from here.” Terrence Lynch the NSC Project Engineer with WSDOT said.
Lynch has worked on the project for the last decade in various roles, now as the project engineer. He took KREM 2 on a tour of the Spokane River Crossing, where WSDOT is constructing the freeway connection over the river and a pedestrian bridge north of Spokane Community College.
"The project here off in the distance has been underway since early 2023 so this is in season two, and it's expected to wrap up in by the end of 2025,” Lynch said.
2025 marks a major milestone for the NSC, five years out from the expected completion. Lynch said, they are on track for completion at the end of 2030, but admits they have a lot of work to do.
"The number one question that I get asked is, when is it going to be done? Right? Everybody wants this project to be completed so that they can have full use of it,” Lynch said.
The NSC has been talked about for more than 70 years dating back to the mid-1940’s. Even then, city leaders recognized the need for a north/south alternative through Spokane. Right now, arterials like Market Street are designated freight routes which is taking a toll on the roads and changed neighborhoods. When the NSC is complete the hope is to reduce traffic, travel time, and fuel usage.
The transportation project has overcome many hurdles including funding, at times the legislature halting funding. Right now, the funding for the $1.5 billion project is secured for now, but there's new leadership in Olympia. KREM 2’s Tim Pham asked Governor-elect Bob Ferguson, if the North Spokane Corridor is a priority for him?
"That's a key project for our state. Folks in Spokane who are listening to this know that. I used to live in Spokane, I understand that. We'll make sure that's funded,” Bob Ferguson, Washington Governor-Elect said.
This upcoming year, two projects are expected to go out for advertisement.
"One of them we refer to as stage three, and that's actually going to build the twin bridges, so the northbound lanes and the southbound lanes between Sprague Avenue and Alki Avenue,” Lynch explained.
The other project will begin the process of creating a major interchange.
"We're hoping to advertise what we call stage two, which is going to build the partial interchange at Trent so make the connection between the north Spokane corridor and SR 290 otherwise known as Trent Avenue,” Lynch added.
These two projects should be under construction by this time next year according to WSDOT. In the meantime, they are in the process of designing the connection to I-90, and hope have those designs finalized in the next two years.
"So, we know where all the ramps are going to be. We know how the connection is going to look. But there's a lot of work between knowing where things are going to connect and actually putting together biddable plans that contractors can bid on and then start construction,” Lynch said.
However, conversations are already underway for what design features will look like in the East Central Neighborhood where the freeways will connect.
"When you think about freeways with a lifespan of 100 years, this is infrastructure that's going to be in this neighborhood, in people's backyards for a really long time,” said Shauna Harshman, WSDOT Community Engagement and Environmental Justice Planner.
WSDOT has a community meeting on Wednesday, November 20th at 5:30 p.m., at the Liberty Park Library in East Central. At these meetings, community members get updates on the freeway and give input on design concepts.