SPOKANE, Wash. — A new section of the North Spokane Corridor opened to traffic on Thursday, marking a major milestone in the long-awaited project to create a freeway connection between Interstate 90 and U.S. Highway 395.
The Washington State Department of Transportation celebrated the opening of the 1.5-mile stretch from Freya Street to Wellesley Avenue with a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by local, state and federal officials. The public was also invited to join the festivities under the new Wellesley overpass.
The new section includes an interchange at Wellesley Avenue, which will provide access to and from the corridor for drivers in the Hillyard and Minnehaha neighborhoods. The interchange is part of the Spokane River to Columbia project, which also includes a bridge over the Spokane River and a half interchange at Columbia Avenue.
The North Spokane Corridor is a 10.5-mile highway that will eventually connect I-90 in east Spokane with U.S. 395 in north Spokane, providing a faster and more efficient route for commuters, freight and emergency vehicles. The project has been in the works since the 1990s and is funded through the Connecting Washington transportation package passed in 2015.
WSDOT plans to complete the remaining sections of the corridor by 2030. The next phase, which will connect the project at Wellesley Avenue with the Sprague Avenue to Spokane River project near Spokane Community College, is under construction and expected to open in 2025. The final phases, which will connect the highway from Sprague Avenue to I-90 and create a half interchange at State Route 290/Trent Avenue, are scheduled to begin construction in 2024 and 2026, respectively.
