Les Schwab Tires adding truck facility

One of the many local construction projects fighting the calendar with the uncertainty of what winter will bring is a business very much synonymous with weather.

The Cheney Les Schwab Tires is adding a new truck center and warehouse across Spokane Street from its existing location.

"It will basically be all the same services that we've had before," manager "Sparky" Kaminski said. "This will be more convenient for trucks to get in and out."

Now instead of potentially jamming the area with large trucks and RVs, there will be a flow, Kaminski said. Customers will pull in on Kalispell Street and out on Spokane Street.

The new building will have a canopy and be better when the weather turns sour. The new warehouse will have an office with customer waiting area and a tire service area. The building that once occupied the property was just a warehouse.

"A lot of our stores do the commercial side of it," Kaminski said.

What service that has been being conducted behind the current Schwab building will now be done across the street. It will alleviate some congestion behind the store, Kaminski said. "Same exact service other than it's a nice new facility with better access to get trucks in and out," he added.

The new facility will not only cater to large trucks but also RVs and fifth-wheels. "Anything with a trailer on it will now be serviced across the street," Kaminski said.

The target date for completion of the building being erected by Graham Construction out of Spokane is sometime in the next couple of months, possibly longer, Kaminski explained.

"It's not going to be done I think before Nov. 1, that's only a month out," Kaminski said. The first part of 2016 appears to be a more likely timeframe.

The weather will be a determining factor, Kaminski said, especially with new paving.

The project was made possible when the Cheney City Council granted a motion at its Aug. 25 meeting to abandon the lower portion of Spokane Street near the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad tracks. This allowed the new and old buildings to be separated by just a shared parking lot.

Les Schwab Tires is based in Bend, Ore. and was founded by its namesake in 1952. There are currently 478 locations employing over 8,000 people.

Paul Delaney can be reached at [email protected].