City hopes West Plains Connection will improve traffic flow, aide businesses

AIRWAY HEIGHTS-The Highway 2 and Hayford Road intersection is "one of the busiest in the county," according to public works director Kevin Anderson. The city hopes Phase 1 of the West Plains Connection project will help amend that.

The project, which is a collaboration between Airway Heights, Spokane and the Kalispel Tribe, has been in various discussions and traffic for over 10 years, but a recent plan for a 6th/10th/12th corridor has finally gained traction after funding commitments from the city and tribe for Phase 1.

"We formalized an arrangement in March or April, which is when the real work got going," Anderson said.

Phase 1 would feature the installation of a 0.75 mile stretch of road from the 10th Avenue terminus east to Hayford Road.

The city hopes that Phase 1 will improve traffic flow along Highway 2 and aid business expansion, including a North 40, Circle K and urgent care facility.

"If you're directly along the highway, then the fact that traffic has more than one place to go makes it less congested to go along the highway," Anderson said. "The less congested it is, the more free-flow you have, the more people will want to come to your business."

The busy Hayford and Highway 2 intersection and its "poor service" was a strong consideration for the 10th Avenue to Hayford stretch being the first part of the project, Anderson said.

"At peak hours, and especially if there's an event at the casino...the traffic backs up considerably," Anderson said. "The thinking behind this corridor has all along been that if you are north of that intersection and you're trying to get east and west ... you don't have to get on the highway. If we can get this missing link constructed, that's going to serve that function."

The city plans to add a second left-turn lane from Hayford Road southbound turning east down Highway 2 in a separate project this fall.

The complete project would see a connection from 6th Avenue and Craig Road heading east into Spokane city limits at 12th Avenue and Campus Drive. The city has been gathering public and council opinions on what kind of road would be advantageous for the mostly-residential 6th Avenue stretch.

Anderson said the most popular idea has been a boulevard-style road with a bike/walking path to the north and a raised center section with landscaping and trees in the middle of 6th Avenue separating the left and east bound lanes.

"People liked the idea of a separated bike/ped path," Anderson said. "That is (also) being proposed for the missing link between 10th and Hayford."

The city expects that down the line, expansion of roads will be necessary to accommodate traffic. Anderson said 6th Avenue would be a likely candidate for expansion.

"Typically that would mean an overlay of a couple inches of asphalt over what's already there," Anderson said. "Definitely 6th needs to be a roadway that we need to improve to handle additional traffic in the future."

Council approved a funding pledge of $376,889 at its August 10 study session for Phase 1. The tribe then agreed to commit $700,000 to the project, bringing the total funds pledged to $1,076,889 for a 30% match on the $3.5 million project.

The tribe's pledge was vital for completion of the project, according to Anderson. A reduction in gas tax revenue statewide due to COVID-19 and subsequent reduced driving has caused less money to be available from the Transportation Improvement Board (TIB).

"Without (the tribe), we wouldn't have had a project," Anderson said. "We would've had to go to a different location."

The rest of the money will come from grant funding, the city hopes. A grant application has been submitted for funds from TIB that would allow Phase 1 to begin permitting summer 2021. A response is expected by November.

The city applied for TIB funding two years ago, but was denied due to the lack of a roundabout at Deer Heights Road. Now that the roundabout exists, the city is more hopeful for a successful grant application this time.

"They said, 'once that gets built, this particular corridor ... makes more sense,'" Anderson said. "We always saw this as something we wanted to pursue this particular funding cycle."

If the grant application to TIB is unsuccessful, Anderson said the city will look for other possible funding sources to help sponsor the project.

"It's a high priority project for the city and the tribe," Anderson said. "If we don't get it funded through this particular cycle, we'll try again."

Drew Lawson can be reached at [email protected].