SPOKANE, Wash. — Yet another road project started Tuesday morning with the closure of Cheney-Spokane Road in the Latah Valley area.
The road reopened Tuesday afternoon to allow for evacuations for the Grove Fire burning in the Geiger Heights area in south Spokane County, but that project is just one of many happening right now around the Spokane area.
But why are there so many construction projects going on at once? You can chalk it up to Mother Nature. Road crews need good weather for their construction projects.
Kirstin Davis with the City of Spokane said the Inland Northwest gets those conditions for a short time each year.
"We're a community that has those harsh winters," Davis said. "If we don't get those construction projects done in that, you know, six to eight-month phase, then we have to move it into the next year."
Another reason is funding and when they get it.
According to Spokane County Public Works Construction Engineer Becky Spangle, they will often apply for grant funding for projects years in advance.
However, once they get the funding, there's often a deadline for when they have to use it. "We never know for sure when those deadlines are going to fall," Spangle said
That means that the City of Spokane, Spokane County and the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) often have projects happening at the same time as each other.
However, WSDOT spokesman Ryan Overton thinks the coordination and communication between each jurisdiction is getting better. "There's just a ton of coordination that goes on behind the scenes that people don't realize," Overton said. "And it's not perfect, but I think we are definitely getting a lot better at it. We're communicating more and more frequently."
Road experts encourage people to take it slow going through construction zones, give yourself extra time to get to your destination and try to take other routes if possible.
In other words, drive safely.
Another resource you can use is the Spokane Regional Traffic Management Center's online map, which shows current conditions, traffic flow and gives visitors access to traffic cameras. It is also useful for checking on where those construction projects are.
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