#14. I-90, Argonne Road to Sullivan Road

Congestion is a major concern on Interstate 90 in the Argonne Road to Sullivan Road section, which is a vital roadway in Spokane Valley.

Addressing this problem, Hamilton Contractors will widen the roadway to six lanes by creating two additional lanes, including a general-purpose lane in each direction of travel.

The work on I-90 between Argonne Road and Sullivan Road is about 5 miles of the planned 13-mile-long widening of the Spokane to Idaho State Line Corridor improvement project. The corridor is a central route for commuters and travelers in eastern Spokane County and northern Idaho, and is an important route for transporting freight domestically across Washington and state lines, as well as internationally.

More than 100,000 vehicles drive the freeway corridor each day, which is designated as a Strategic Freight Corridor. The expansion is necessary to maintain the transportation value of this significant trade route by relieving congestion and other impacts to both freight and passenger traffic. Projections estimate that freight traffic will increase 30 percent over the next 10 years.

After widening the freeway, the estimated afternoon traffic speed is 65.5 miles per hour in the year 2010 and 41.3 miles per hour in 2020. Without constructing the additional lanes, traffic speeds would be 50.6 miles per hour in the year 2010 and 27.3 miles per hour in 2020.

Reduced speeds translate to four hours of traffic congestion in the year 2010 and 11 hours in 2020 without the added lanes. Once the work is completed, computer modeling forecasts virtually zero hours of congestion per day in the year 2010.

Another goal of the freeway modification is to produce safer roads. Three areas along the corridor, totaling 5 miles, are designated as “high accident corridor” locations. Additional lanes should help reduce traffic collisions in these areas.

The corridor expansion will use Portland cement concrete pavement, which has a higher initial construction cost but saves over the life of the pavement. Over time, this pavement will cost less in maintenance, repairs and repaving because of its durability.

The Argonne Road to Sullivan Road leg is Phase I of the three major phases planned to complete the corridor widening. The remaining two phases are Sullivan Road to Harvard Road (Liberty Lake) and Harvard Road to the Idaho state line.

PROJECT PARTICIPANTS

Contractor: Scarsella Bros., 19460 84th Ave. S., Kent, WA 98032, Seattle, WA 98168, (253) 872-7173 Project engineer: Darrell McCallum, 2714 N. Mayfair, Spokane, WA 99207, (509) 324-6242

Other Participants
AAA Sweeping	Acme Concrete Paving	Central Pre Mix Concrete Co.
Columbia Hydroseeding	Colvico Electric	DMI Drilling Construction
E.L. Mason Industries	Frank Gurney Inc.	Precast Barrier and Guardrail
Inland Asphalt Co.	John-Wayne Construction Co.	Nelson Construction
North Star Enterprises	Northwest Fence Co.	Sharp-Line Industries
Spilker Masonry	Spokane Culvert Co.	Western Concrete Products