MILLWOOD, Wash. – The Argonne Road Corridor Improvement Project is kicking off Monday, in order to help mitigate traffic on the busy road. While construction is underway, some businesses in the area have concerns about what the work will mean for them.
The project is years in the making and will cost approximately $2.4 million through a combination of federal, city and state funds.
Key improvements from the project include:
Adding a center lane (shifting traffic to the east) on Argonne Road between Frederick and Liberty.Installation of intersection left-turn lanes at Frederick, Dalton and Liberty.Construction of a shared-use path along the east side of Argonne Road, connecting Empire Avenue to the Spokane River bridge and integrating with the InterUrban Trail.Upgrades to the railroad crossing signal equipment.Decorative lighting between Euclid and Liberty.Traffic signal upgrades at Euclid and Liberty.Enhanced crosswalks.
“Liberty concrete, is going to be starting down by the Northwest corner of the Millwood Mart. They will be cutting out some of the sidewalk bulb-outs. And preparing to do some of the widening features down there. Avista will be starting on the Southeast side of Argonne. Up by the dentist’s office. And they’ll be starting to put in the utilities underground,” Kyle Schiewe, the Public Works Director for the City of Millwood, said.
While the construction project is underway, the city warns that the community can expect congestion and traffic, which is causing businesses on Argonne to be concerned.
“It wasn’t ’till last Tuesday that we found out the work was going to happen in the daytime. After they had told us night time. But that changed… We just need to know the information. We don’t have it. Can’t plan, we don’t know whether to take the day off, we don’t know whether to close, pretty much all the businesses are in the same respect,” Greg Mott, the owner of The Corner Door, said.
The Corner Door has sat on Argonne Road for over 30 years. Mott told NonStop Local that he and other businesses have voiced their concerns about this project for years. Specifically, he is frustrated by, what he calls, a lack of clear communication from the city.
“They give us all this spin! ‘We’ve met with the Paper Mill,’ ‘we’ve met with the Railroad,’ ‘we’ve met with whatever,’ ‘everything’s cool,’ ‘we’re gonna be working forward,’ ‘minimal disruptions!’. What does that tell us? We want specifics. We want right down to the specifics,” Mott said.
The city told NonStop Local that this project is necessary for public safety, and will ultimately mitigate congestion issues on the already busy road.
“So, we did an entire… reclamation of Argonne back in 2009. And we didn’t have the funds or right of way to do the turn lanes at that point… Behind the scenes stuff has been happening for the past 15 years,” City Councilman and Mayor Pro-Tem, Shaun Couller, said.
The work will be done in phases, likely through September.
Businesses will remain open during the construction.
“It’s not a fun season. But we will promise to try to make it as painless as we can and we’re gonna try to get it done as quickly as we can,” Brianna LaRiviere, the Public Liasion for the project, said.
