Date:  Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Contact: Al Gilson, Communications Manager
WSDOT Eastern Region
2714 N. Mayfair
Spokane, WA  99207
(509)324-6015
gilsona@wsdot.wa.gov

The Washington State Department of Transportation proudly announces the opening of the first drivable segment on the US 395 North Spokane Corridor, a three-mile section from Freya/Francis to Farwell Road, will take place on Saturday, August. 22.

“I am proud of our WSDOT team and our contractors who have worked since 2001 to give Spokane an improved corridor through the city,” said Paula Hammond, Washington Transportation Secretary. “Opening this section is a major accomplishment after many years of community planning.”

An official “first ribbon-cutting” ceremony to celebrate this major milestone will be held on the new highway at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 22. The ceremony will be followed by a classic car parade.

The day will celebrate the first use of a section of the new highway. A north/south freeway for the Spokane area has been in the concept stage since the mid 1940s.

The August date is somewhat significant. The North Spokane Corridor groundbreaking ceremony was held on the same date in 2001. That ceremony was followed by the first earthwork job in the corridor. Construction work really took off with the passage of the 2003 gas tax package. That legislation funded a series of eight North Spokane Corridor projects, including the work on this first drivable section.

This first segment opened to traffic will have one lane in each direction separated by a lane-width median. Vehicles will travel on what eventually will be the northbound side of the future fully divided freeway.

“We are excited to open this first limited segment to traffic. Each operational segment will benefit the transportation network in the region as we design, build and plan for completion of the full-width freeway,” said Keith Metcalf, WSDOT Eastern Region Administrator. With the second segment opening in 2011, the two portions will provide a high speed link from northeast Spokane and the Hillyard district to the existing US 395 highway near the Wandermere golf course.

The Aug. 22 event is open to the public with special parking areas and STA shuttle bus service to the ceremony site. Earlier in the day, a Volkswalk will take place with participants touring on foot the new highway section and the adjacent paved trail.

Detailed parking locations and shuttle route information is available on the WSDOT Web site, http://www.nscfreeway.com/.

Work continues on the North Spokane Corridor. The second section opening to traffic will be the connection from Farwell Road to the existing US 395. Work on that segment should start fairly soon.

For more details, visit the project web pages: http://www.nscfreeway.com/

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