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North Spokane Corridor - US 395 in Spokane, WA

Started by ctroadgeek, May 24, 2009, 02:18:38 PM

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ctroadgeek

For those of you not in the know, WSDOT is creating a north-south freeway in Spokane to help alleviate traffic problems. They plan on shifting US 395 over to it from its current alignment. Some more information about the project can be found at http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/US395/NorthSpokaneCorridor/.

Being that the road is brand new, and will be presumably built to interstate standards, I thought it would be a great idea for it to get a 3di designation since it begins at I-90 going north. I-190 or I-390 would work. I emailed Larry Larson, the project engineer, and he didn't seem to get that all I cared about was the designation; it wouldn't be hard to install the signage for an interstate route. Anyway here's an excerpt from my correspondence with him in December 2007.

QuoteIn the case of the North Spokane Corridor (NSC) it has no "parent"
highway.  It is designated US-395 and it begins in the Los Angeles area
and traverses through the east side of California, Oregon and
Washington, finally terminating at the Canadian border.  While the NSC
will be built to Interstate Standards in Spokane, the bulk of it from
beginning to end is not.

I hope this answers your question, if not please write back.  In the
meantime, here is a link to further information.

It's a little annoying when you get talked down to about the difference between 2di, 3di and all that when you are keenly aware! He didn't seem to get that I was just referring to the freeway section of the NSC, and since it starts at I-90, it does too have a @#$#@ parent highway!

Has anybody else had any frustrating dealings with DOT people in regards to a simple question? I just had wanted to know if they could designate that 10 mile freeway as a 3di, that's all.


Alex

Have had that happened to me several times. I will sometimes write back and clarify. My emails about the I-10 control city of Pascagoula were addressed to me this way, until I wrote back with a more detailed question.

As for the North Spokane Corridor, I blogged about it a couple of years ago here. The new American Map Company atlas (Geonova base) shows the entire corridor under construction with a "FUT U.S. 395" shield along it.

J N Winkler

The construction plans for it (various contracts have been coming out since about 2003) now show "FUTURE" US 395 signs.  It is also signed as "North Spokane Corridor" on some crossroads signs.
"It is necessary to spend a hundred lire now to save a thousand lire later."--Piero Puricelli, explaining the need for a first-class road system to Benito Mussolini

corco

Especially annoying since US 395 doesn't start anywhere near the Los Angeles area anymore, and also spends a fair amount of time in Nevada

froggie

Since I-90 already goes square through Spokane, I don't see the need for an Interstate designation for the corridor.  It'd be a different story of I-90 skipped Spokane altogether and the corridor led into the city (ala Rochester, MN or Rochester, NY), but that's not the case here.

Fcexpress80

Hang in there ctroadgeek.  I support the designation of US 2/395, Spokane N/S Freeway as "I-390" and the designation of the almost completed US-395 freeway from Ritzville to Pasco, WA as "I-490."  WA-18 should also be designated as "I-690" because of its importance connecting Tacoma and South King County, WA to I-90 and Snoqualmie Pass.  I also like the idea of a future freeway loop around the north end of Spokane that I would designate as "I-290." 

Alex

Getting There: Corridor bridge girders installed

QuoteConstruction of the North Spokane Corridor took a big jump forward in recent days with the installation of bridge girders at the future Wandermere interchange at U.S. Highway 395.

The work comes as the project timeline nears the one-year mark until completion of the northern leg of the north-south freeway route.

The state Department of Transportation hopes to open the segment between Wandermere and Farwell roads by the end of 2011.

"Bridge girders are going up as we are speaking,"  Al Gilson, spokesman for DOT in Spokane, said last week.

The girders rest on piers that were drilled 160 feet into the ground.

Traffic through the construction zone has been limited to one lane in each direction on U.S. 395 for the past few months.

Opening of the Wandermere freeway segment will hinge on winter weather and how much crews can accomplish when temperatures drop below freezing.

A cold, snowy winter could delay the opening until early 2012 if concrete work shuts down, Gilson said.

While workers were erecting the interchange bridge at Wandermere last week, another crew was paving the southbound lanes with concrete in the vicinity of Northwood Middle School.

To the south, more workers were busy on the spaghetti-like interchange at U.S. Highway 2 where the former highway lanes have been lowered so that the freeway and interchange ramps can run overhead.

To the south of that, yet another crew was moving hills of dirt and rock to clear the way for completion of southbound freeway lanes between Farwell and Freya Street in Hillyard.

That portion of the project should be completed in early 2012.

October 11, 2010

"When they are completed in a year or so, we will have fully half of the North Spokane Corridor open,"  Gilson said.

The 5.5-mile northern segment will link U.S. 2 and 395 with the Hillyard area at Freya Street just north of Francis Avenue.

Funding is being sought for the southern portion from Freya to Interstate 90.

So far, more than $550 million has been allocated to the 10-mile corridor, including a $35 million federal economic stimulus grant announced earlier this year for paving southbound lanes from Farwell to Freya.

In 2009, the state opened two-way traffic on what will become the northbound lanes of that same segment. The route has been seeing increasing use in recent months, DOT officials said.

Henry

Quote from: corco on May 24, 2009, 11:47:33 PM
Especially annoying since US 395 doesn't start anywhere near the Los Angeles area anymore, and also spends a fair amount of time in Nevada

Not to mention that it sneaks into Nevada and re-enters California after leaving Reno! (Then again, I-24 does the same thing near Chattanooga, going from Tennessee to Georgia, then back into Tennessee.)

Still, this would be a great route for commuters coming in from the north. Perhaps we could see the existing US 395 through downtown become Business US 395?
Go Cubs Go! Go Cubs Go! Hey Chicago, what do you say? The Cubs are gonna win today!

corco

Pretty much the entire old alignment of US-395 is also US-2, so it will probably stay that way. Or they'll just put 2 on the NSC as well.

Washington doesn't really like business routes, and it's not like WSDOT is in great financial shape. They'll almost certainly try to relinquish 395 back to the Spokane. I have no idea what that would do to SR 291- maybe they extend that to the NSC to help recoup for forcing 395 to the city, or they could decommission the thing entirely. It serves a state park, which is neat, but not a legal requirement for the system to do, and is otherwise a non-logical link in an otherwise very logical system.

dmuzika

Giving this thread a bump.  I recently took I-90 through Spokane, on the maps it appears the northern leg of the North Spokane Corridor is complete but there doesn't seem to be any indication of construction for the southern leg or I-90 interchange.  Does anyone know the status or timeline?

Landshark

WSDOT has a page dedicated to the project:  http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/us395/northspokanecorridor/

They are slowly working their way south.   

Henry

I could see an I-x90 spur into Spokane, once the whole thing is completed. It would probably function the same as I-580 from Reno to Carson City, which also shares pavement with US 395.
Go Cubs Go! Go Cubs Go! Hey Chicago, what do you say? The Cubs are gonna win today!

Bruce

The big question is what designations will move to where?

I'd prefer to see US 395 on the new NSC (possibly co-signed as I-190) and US 2 remaining on Division Street/Newport Highway.

I94RoadRunner

Quote from: ctroadgeek on May 24, 2009, 02:18:38 PM
For those of you not in the know, WSDOT is creating a north-south freeway in Spokane to help alleviate traffic problems. They plan on shifting US 395 over to it from its current alignment. Some more information about the project can be found at http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/US395/NorthSpokaneCorridor/.

Being that the road is brand new, and will be presumably built to interstate standards, I thought it would be a great idea for it to get a 3di designation since it begins at I-90 going north. I-190 or I-390 would work. I emailed Larry Larson, the project engineer, and he didn't seem to get that all I cared about was the designation; it wouldn't be hard to install the signage for an interstate route. Anyway here's an excerpt from my correspondence with him in December 2007.

QuoteIn the case of the North Spokane Corridor (NSC) it has no "parent"
highway.  It is designated US-395 and it begins in the Los Angeles area
and traverses through the east side of California, Oregon and
Washington, finally terminating at the Canadian border.  While the NSC
will be built to Interstate Standards in Spokane, the bulk of it from
beginning to end is not.

I hope this answers your question, if not please write back.  In the
meantime, here is a link to further information.

It's a little annoying when you get talked down to about the difference between 2di, 3di and all that when you are keenly aware! He didn't seem to get that I was just referring to the freeway section of the NSC, and since it starts at I-90, it does too have a @#$#@ parent highway!

Has anybody else had any frustrating dealings with DOT people in regards to a simple question? I just had wanted to know if they could designate that 10 mile freeway as a 3di, that's all.

I have thought as well that between I-90 and the US 2 split should be I-190. Along with that, I had an idea for an I-390 connector in Moses Lake, WA .....
Chris Kalina

“The easiest solution to fixing the I-238 problem is to redefine I-580 as I-38

Interstate 69 Fan

Here's how the routes will be planned out
US 395 will occupy the entire corridor.
US 395 between US 2 and Future US 395 will become Division Street.
No interstate designation is planned for the route, however, one of WADOT's North Spokane Corridor videos on YouTube (I think) referred to the route as I-390.

I don't think an interstate designation will be applied, however.
Apparently I’m a fan of I-69.  Who knew.

compdude787

#15
Quote from: Interstate 69 Fan on November 11, 2016, 10:33:48 AM
No interstate designation is planned for the route, however, one of WADOT's North Spokane Corridor videos on YouTube (I think) referred to the route as I-390.

I don't think an interstate designation will be applied, however.

Wait, what? It seems weird that they said they were going to make it a 3di, because I don't think that was ever part of the plan.

The Ghostbuster

I don't think the NSC needs a 3-digit Interstate designation. Designate and sign it as US 395 and call it a day.

sparker

Question: will US 2 remain on Division Street as it does currently, or will it move over to the NSC with US 395? 

compdude787

Quote from: sparker on November 12, 2016, 02:43:44 PM
Question: will US 2 remain on Division Street as it does currently, or will it move over to the NSC with US 395?

I believe so.

sp_redelectric

Not sure what the point of a 3di would be here; since the Corridor itself doesn't serve a destination that Interstate travellers would use, and it will already have one and possibly two U.S. designations that aren't going away anytime soon.

Howpper

Quote from: compdude787 on November 12, 2016, 08:34:13 PM
Quote from: sparker on November 12, 2016, 02:43:44 PM
Question: will US 2 remain on Division Street as it does currently, or will it move over to the NSC with US 395?

I believe so.

I was wondering the same thing, because I thought one of their reasons for building the corridor was, maintaining Division as a highway was too expensive. Do you think they just meant WITH truck traffic it was too expensive?

compdude787

Quote from: Howpper on December 16, 2016, 01:25:20 AMDo you think they just meant WITH truck traffic it was too expensive?

Yes because trucks (and buses) tend to cause more wear and tear on the pavement. I saw this a lot on roads in Seattle that were on bus routes.

Strider

Resurrection!

What is the status on this corridor? is it completed all the way to I-90?

compdude787

It won't be completed till 2029, according to WSDOT's website. They're working on the overpasses over Freya Street currently.

Interstate 69 Fan

Quote from: compdude787 on January 01, 2018, 03:08:08 PM
It won't be completed till 2029, according to WSDOT's website. They're working on the overpasses over Freya Street currently.

If they ever get it done on time...
Apparently I’m a fan of I-69.  Who knew.



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