Wherever there's growth, there's a corresponding need for infrastructure. And wherever there's a need for infrastructure, it has to be either created or augmented. Which is why, along with death and taxes, you can now count construction as one of life's certainties.
To that end, there are a number of new and ongoing construction projects around the Inland Northwest, many of them transportation-related. The North-South Freeway in Spokane, long the punchline to jokes about the slow revolutions of bureaucratic gears, is making some visible and encouraging progress. Pullman's downtown is getting an extensive makeover both under and above ground. And close to downtown Spokane, the Veterans Memorial Arena will soon feature facility improvements — not to mention a revamped image — for the benefit of its performers, audience and sports teams.
POST STREET BRIDGE
While some construction projects seem to drag on forever, it's good to remember that they do eventually come to an end.
The Post Street Bridge renovation completed in spring 2024 is just one example. This was a $22 million, multiyear project with origins dating back before 2013 — the year that the aging structure was restricted to one-way vehicle traffic for safety reasons. Automobiles were banned from crossing completely in 2019, and restoration work led by Kuney Construction began in earnest in June 2020.
However, a pandemic was also brewing around that time, and the resulting social distancing protocols and supply-chain bottlenecks quickly led to delays. On top of that, the 333-foot bridge's concrete structure had also deteriorated to the point where restoration required crews to work on one small section at a time.
"These were 100-year-old arches. It's like any sort of rehab, whether it be at your house or anywhere. You open [it] up and you realize, 'OK, this is bad. This is worse than we thought,'" says Tobin Smith, a senior project manager at Kuney Construction.
The Post Street Bridge reopened with an official ribbon-cutting ceremony on June 5, 2024 — almost four years to the day after construction started and two years later than initially expected.
The new structure retains the bridge's iconic open spandrel arch deck design but is deliberately multimodal, which means that it caters to pedestrians and cyclists as much as vehicles. One goal was to integrate the bridge more naturally into nearby Riverfront Park, so its planters and benches incorporate the park's modern design aesthetic. The bridge also functions as an access point for the Centennial Trail and the Great Gorge Loop Trail.
City officials also used the project as an opportunity to replace an important sewer main serving downtown Spokane. The old, rusting 54-inch wastewater pipe was replaced with a new 60-inch pipe that's tucked away under the bridge's deck.
DOWNTOWN PULLMAN
In an effort to create a more "people-centric" and business-friendly environment, the City of Pullman has re-envisioned its downtown core. In April 2024, crews from the Kennewick-based company Apollo Inc. began transformative and comprehensive work on Main Street between Grand Avenue and Spring Street.
There's hardly a stone that will remain unturned. The approximately $12 million project — $9.5 million of which came from American Rescue Plan Act funding — is replacing undersized pipes, cracked and buckled sidewalks, unruly street trees, and aging utility infrastructure. Even some contaminated soil left by former gas stations has been removed.
East of the intersection with Kamiaken Street, the redesigned Main Street will be slimmed from three to two lanes to allow for wider ADA-accessible sidewalks and more foot traffic. A dedicated crosswalk signal and a concrete speed table will increase safety for pedestrians and drivers alike. Consequently, there may be temporary diversions and altered traffic patterns in place until the project wraps up in October 2024.
SPOKANE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
As the state's second-busiest airport behind Sea-Tac, growth is inevitable for Spokane International Airport. Around 6.2 million passengers (up from the current 4.1 million) are expected to pass through the facility in 2030. And the airport has been preparing accordingly.
The first part of the airport's Terminal Renovation and Expansion, or TREX, program broke ground in October 2022 and was partially operating by June 2024. Covering 144,000 square feet and at a cost of $150 million, this initial project added three new gates to the west side of the airport's C concourse. The ground boarding gates on the east side will also be swapped out for three passenger loading bridges, and the rest of the upper C concourse gates will be revamped. Plus, the airlines will get six additional counter locations thanks to an extended ticketing area.
Like most large-scale construction projects, TREX isn't only concerned with introducing new amenities. The existing mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems are getting some much-needed improvements, including energy-efficient features that will help the project attain green LEED certification. Travelers will also see modernized lighting, baggage handling, signage, restrooms and escalators among other things. They can also expect big boosts to accessibility in the form of in-floor hearing loops to broadcast announcements to hearing aids, as well as spaces for nursing mothers.
The project timeline forecasts the full C concourse expansion wrapping up near the end of 2025. A second phase of TREX will focus on building a centralized TSA screening checkpoint and baggage claim that also improves movement between the A/B and C concourses. That $179 million project is slated for 2025-27.
Meanwhile, in conjunction with multiple upgrades to water system capacity across the area, the City of Spokane has also been busy building a 3.6 million gallon drinking water reservoir at Spokane International Airport. The $13.3 million project is on track to be completed in late 2024.
I-90 FROM POST FALLS TO COEUR D'ALENE
As part of regional improvements to Interstate 90 near Coeur d'Alene, a section near Post Falls will continue to see heightened construction activity, especially around the Idaho State Highway 41 interchange. Throughout summer 2024, the east and westbound bridges will be paved and the medians widened. Some utility work, including a waterline installation, is bundled into that.
Come autumn and continuing into spring 2025, I-90 traffic near Post Falls will shift to the new westbound bridges, and crews will start laying the foundation for the completed permanent bridges. While all this is happening, drivers beware that there will be temporary lane reductions around the interchange, and the I-90 westbound loop off-ramp will be replaced by a straight one.
Spring 2025 will also mark the start of a long-planned widening of I-90 from two lanes to four in both directions between Highway 41 and U.S. Route 95 in Coeur d'Alene. That will involve more on- and off-ramp reconfiguration along that stretch of freeway as well as widening the bridges over Huetter Road, Atlas Road and Prairie Trail. Given that the second and final phase of the project won't begin until fall 2025, expect construction to span into 2026.
SPOKANE ARENA AND PUBLIC FACILITIES DISTRICT
For watersports enthusiasts, "PFD" conjures a personal floatation device, such as a life jacket. For Alaskans, it may be their Permanent Fund Dividend.
But in Spokane, the PFD is the Public Facilities District. It's the government entity tasked with stewarding what has become an impressive array of venues — the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena, Spokane Convention Center, First Interstate Center for the Arts, ONE Spokane Stadium and the Podium. The confusion is something that the organization is hoping to dispel through a top-to-bottom image revamp.
"The rebrand is needed for multiple reasons," explains Matt Meyer, the PFD's director of entertainment, "the biggest being that our own community doesn't fully understand what the Spokane Public Facilities District does. Many times people think we're a utility company. But we've added two more buildings with multiple functions, our company culture has shifted, and we've grown substantially over the last three to four years. It's time to bring our brand to the forefront."
The forthcoming rebrand is being overseen by Power Marketing and entails a makeover for all the venues' websites, revised color palettes, coordinated signage and perhaps even a public-facing name change. The rollout is expected to take place over several months in late 2024 and early 2025.
The PFD-wide rebrand follows a $10.2 million renovation to the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena, most of which was completed during July 2024 when, to expedite construction, the Arena briefly went dark. It reopened in time for the Jelly Roll concert on Aug. 30.
During that time, multiple suites were renovated, and work began on moving the club bar for a better customer experience. The ribbon board that wraps around the Arena bowl was switched to LED lighting that will reduce energy consumption by about two-thirds. Another dynamic lighting feature that can be synced to live performances was also added below a portion of the ribbon. The old metal halide event lighting on the north side of the arena bowl also got an energy-efficient upgrade to LED.
Retractable seating on three sides of the approximately 12,000-seat arena was replaced, too, which will speed up changeovers between athletic events. Speaking of which, the sports teams will enjoy remodeled back-of-house rooms as well as better showers and restrooms. Work on those final parts of the renovation project should be done in time for the Spokane Chiefs' first game of the season on Sept. 28, 2024.
NORTH SPOKANE CORRIDOR
Though only 10.5 miles long, the North-South Freeway, officially known as the North Spokane Corridor, might rank as the region's most anticipated stretch of road. Once completed, it will offer motorists — and freight trucks in particular — a way to bypass the stop-and-go traffic on Division Street between I-90 and highways US-2 and US-395 north of the city.
A key section of the North Spokane Corridor between Freya Street and Wellesley Avenue was fully opened in November 2023. Around that time, construction was already underway on a related $91 million section of the freeway that crosses the Spokane River. The bridge at the heart of that project will ultimately connect the skyway portion near Spokane Community College to the south and East Carlisle Avenue to the north. That work is expected to last well into the 2025 construction season.
Also in early 2025, two North Spokane Corridor projects (representing a combined $324 million) will see the construction of new lanes and interchanges between Mission and Sprague avenues. These will link previously completed stretches by the time they're finished in 2027 and 2028. As for the final connection to I-90, the first of four phases is slated to begin in late 2025 or early 2026.
