page_title: North Spokane Corridor
section_title: Construction
hierarchical_section_title: North Spokane Corridor / History / Construction
caption_attribution_description: English: Aerial view of U.S. Route 395 just north of Spokane, Washington, U.S., from slightly east of south.
context_page_description: The U.S. Route 395 North Spokane Corridor is a 10.5-mile-long freeway - with 5.42 miles complete and currently operational – running north–south along the eastern border of Spokane, Washington and parts of unincorporated Spokane County to the north.
  The $2.2 billion project is designed to improve freight and commuter mobility through the Spokane Metropolitan Area. As of 2020, only the northern half from Francis Avenue to U.S. Route 395 is open to traffic; the southern half received state funding in 2015 and is anticipated to be completed by 2029.
  The project is being managed by the Washington State Department of Transportation and will ultimately create a freeway with a speed limit of 60 mph along a new alignment linking Interstate 90, to the existing US Route 395 10.5 miles to the north in the Wandermere area. When completed, the multi-modal facility is expected to have general travel lanes, with right-of-way reserved for a future high-capacity transit system with park-and-ride lots. Additionally, a pedestrian and bicycle trail will run along the entire highway alignment.
context_section_description: After 33 years of further discussions and proposals, the final environmental impact statement (FEIS) for the current version of the project was approved in April 1997. The first phase of the NSC, consisting of grading between Hawthorne Road and US 2, broke ground in August 2001. The first ribbon cutting ceremony (for a 3.5-mile (5.6 km) segment of lanes between the Francis/Freya and Farwell interchanges) occurred on the eighth anniversary of the ground breaking, August 22, 2009. To reduce costs, the scope of construction was reduced in 2008, reducing the northmost portion from six lanes to four, eliminating part of the interchange at Wellesley Avenue, and constructing the freeway at ground level, rather than below. This reduced the cost of that portion from $720 million to $285 million, while still allowing for those improvements later.
  On June 13, 2012, the NSC opened a new section from the newly constructed interchange at US 2 to the new Wandermere/US 395 interchanges and lanes that link them, creating a free-flowing freeway segment from the US 395 interchange to the Francis/Freya interchange. All six lanes between US 2 and Francis/Freya are now completed and operational. This segment was completed in 2012 and includes the southbound lane section and a second roundabout for southbound traffic at Freya Street.  The final project on the north half of the 10-mile route was the Parksmith Road Interchange. The new interchange, near the community of Mead, was opened in October, 2012.  The freeway is now fully built from the Freya interchange to the Wandermere interchange. Commuters are also expected to use the newly opened segment as a faster way to access Bigelow Gulch, which leads to Argonne Road, where it leads to I-90.  Traffic on Bigelow Gulch Rd is expected to increase.
  In Spokane's East Central district, the property acquisition process has been ongoing since June 2010 and includes the acquisition and demolition of 606 homes, businesses and industrial buildings.
  The first project in the south half of the corridor, the Francis Avenue Bridge replacement, has been completed and opened to traffic. The project consisted of removing the existing four-lane, 160-foot-long (49 m) bridge and constructing a 455-foot-long (139 m), five-lane structure.  The new bridge  provides enough space for the future freeway lanes and railway lines to pass under Francis Avenue.  The Francis Avenue Bridge opened to traffic in November, 2013.
  In June, 2012, WSDOT received TIGER Grant funding for the next project, which includes further construction of the Children of the Sun Trail into Hillyard, plus realignment of the railroad mainline and spur under the new structure. This phase of construction also includes two new freeway bridges and two new pedestrian/bike access bridges.
  In July 2015, the Connecting Washington transportation package was signed by Governor Jay Inslee, bringing $879 million in state funding for the completion of the North Spokane Corridor project. Construction on the southern half began in early 2017 with work on the Freya Street overpass and is the whole project is anticipated to be completed by 2027 or 2029, depending on funding. Grading and paving of a section between Freya Street and Central Avenue was completed in September 2019, but remains closed to traffic.
caption: Aerial photograph from slightly east of south showing progress as of 2013)
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