Medical Lake interchange detour plan changes

MEDICAL LAKE - The state Department of Transportation has revised the detour scheme of its planned 10-day Medical Lake interchange closure.

Project Engineer Mark Allen announced Wednesday that state Highway 902, between Craig Road and the interchange, will be limited to local traffic only during the interchange's north half closure.

The previous detour plan gave motorists the option of traveling Highway 902 through a portion of a newly constructed roundabout to Geiger Boulevard.

The last-minute revision is due to Spokane County's adjacent project at the intersection of Geiger Boulevard and Hayford Road, which will be unable to accommodate through-traffic from the Medical Lake interchange roundabout due to ongoing road work, officials said.

Motorists traveling to or from Medical Lake, or Airway Heights via Craig Road, will need to travel south on Craig to access Interstate 90 from the Four Lakes interchange.

The originally closure window - planned for Monday, Sept. 30 through Wednesday, Oct. 9 - remains unaffected.

The north half of the Medical Lake interchange will be closed for westbound on- and off-interchange traffic during the closure, officials said. Westbound interchange motorists must first travel eastbound and turnaround at the Geiger Interchange.

The eastbound I-90 Medical Lake interchange traffic will be unaffected, officials said.

Eastbound I-90 travelers heading to the Medical Lake area will need to exit at the Four Lakes interchange and use Highway 904, which becomes Lake Street after entering the city, officials said.

White Road will also be limited to local traffic, Allen said.

The contractor, R.A. Degerstrom, will be working 24 hours a day for 10 straight days on the interchange's middle roundabout during the closure to "accelerate" the project and make up for delays encountered by utility-related conflicts on the construction site, Allen said.

Lee Hughes can be reached at [email protected].