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City of Spokane Closes Monroe Street Segments For Corridor Project

Credit Doug Nadvornick/SPR
The city of Spokane today closed two segments of Monroe Street to signify the official start of an extensive renovation project.

The city of Spokane today (Monday) began the process of closing portions of North Monroe Street in preparation for a road narrowing and street improvement project.

The 18-block Monroe Street corridor project is designed to narrow the street from five lanes to three. City officials want to slow traffic and make it safer for cars, pedestrians and bicyclists.

The city on Monday began putting up barriers between Euclid and Kiernan, at the north end of the project, and Montgomery and Chelan on the other end.

Crews plan to create wider parking areas and more on-street parking. They’ll replace the pavement, improve lighting on the sidewalks and upgrade transit stops. The city will also widen sidewalks at intersections so pedestrians have shorter crosswalks to navigate. On the Monroe Street hill, it will add a bike path on the west side and a sidewalk on the east side.

While much of the focus is on transportation, water crews will replace an old main line and some of its feeder lines toward the south end.

Because the project is extensive, two sets of contractors will be working at the same time, one on the south end of the project, the other up and down the Monroe Street hill.

Some business owners oppose the project because it will make it more difficult for their customers to access their establishments. The city has created side routes to improve  access to businesses. The city is employing a construction relations manager to answer questions from business owners and the public.

The cost of the project is about $8 million. About 60% of that comes from transportation-related grants.

 

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