North Spokane Corridor

The idea of having a freeway run northward through Spokane was originally conceived in 1946 after the Spokane traffic survey that year. The city of Spokane needed some sort of a major north–south traffic facility to relieve congestion. After several reports and studies, the first plans for the freeway were released in 1956 with an estimated cost of just $13 million, however, those plans were quickly shelved in 1958 as the construction of the Interstate Highway System was prioritized over the construction of the north–south freeway. As a result, cheaper alternatives, such as one-way paired couplets, were discussed.

In 1964, the Spokane Metropolitan Area Transportation Study (SMATS) was formed to fulfill requirements of Federal Highway Act of 1962, and in 1970, along with the Department of Highways, released the "Corridor Study for North Spokane and North Suburban Area Freeway". It recommended a north–south freeway along Hamilton and Nevada streets (the corridor between Nevada and Helena). Though a full freeway interchange was built connecting Hamilton Street with I-90 (exit 282/282A, connecting to State Route 290 (SR 290)), residents successfully blocked any further construction through this area.

View of a graded section of the NSC at the north terminus of the project

After 33 years of further discussions and proposals, the final environmental impact statement (FEIS) for the current version of the project was approved in April 1997. The first phase of the NSC, consisting of grading between Hawthorne Road and US 2, broke ground in August 2001.[6] The first ribbon cutting ceremony (for a 3.5-mile (5.6 km) segment of lanes between the Francis/Freya and Farwell interchanges) occurred on the eighth anniversary of the ground breaking, August 22, 2009. To reduce costs, the scope of construction was reduced in 2008, reducing the northmost portion from six lanes to four, eliminating part of the interchange at Wellesley Avenue, and constructing the freeway at ground level, rather than below. This reduced the cost of that portion from $720 million to $285 million, while still allowing for those improvements later.[7]

On June 13, 2012, the NSC opened a new section from the newly constructed interchange at US 2 to the new Wandermere/US 395 interchanges and lanes that link them, creating a free-flowing freeway segment from the US 395 interchange to the Francis/Freya interchange. All six lanes between US 2 and Francis/Freya are now completed and operational. This segment was completed in 2012 and includes the southbound lane section and a second roundabout for southbound traffic at Freya Street.[8] The final project on the north half of the 10-mile route was the Parksmith Road Interchange.[9] The new interchange, near the community of Mead, was opened in October 2012. The freeway is now fully built from the Freya interchange to the Wandermere interchange. Commuters are also expected to use the newly opened segment as a faster way to access Bigelow Gulch, which leads to Argonne Road, where it leads to I-90. Traffic on Bigelow Gulch Rd is expected to increase.[10]

In Spokane's East Central district, the property acquisition process has been ongoing since June 2010 and includes the acquisition and demolition of 606 homes, businesses and industrial buildings.[11]

The first project in the south half of the corridor, the Francis Avenue Bridge replacement, has been completed and opened to traffic. The project consisted of removing the existing four-lane, 160-foot-long (49 m) bridge and constructing a 455-foot-long (139 m), five-lane structure. The new bridge provides enough space for the future freeway lanes and railway lines to pass under Francis Avenue. The Francis Avenue Bridge opened to traffic in November 2013.[12]

In June 2012, WSDOT received TIGER Grant funding for the next project, which includes further construction of the Children of the Sun Trail into Hillyard, plus realignment of the railroad mainline and spur under the new structure. This phase of construction also includes two new freeway bridges and two new pedestrian/bike access bridges.

The North Spokane Corridor overpass under construction near Spokane Community College

In July 2015, the Connecting Washington transportation package was signed by Governor Jay Inslee, bringing $879 million in state funding for the completion of the North Spokane Corridor project.[13][14] Construction on the southern half began in early 2017 with work on the Freya Street overpass and is the whole project is anticipated to be completed by 2027 or 2029, depending on funding.[8][15][16][17] Grading and paving of a section between Freya Street and Central Avenue was completed in September 2019, but remains closed to traffic.[18]

In October 2019, the 2nd realignment of the BNSF Railway tracks began to make way of further construction of the NSC, one month later after the project began Wellesley Avenue was closed off to traffic. The realignment was completed in August 2021 and construction of the new segment had already begun four months earlier. The new segment once completed will extend the existing freeway from its current southern terminus on Freya Street to Wellesley Avenue. Wellesley Avenue remains closed to traffic until late 2023.[19][20]

In 2023, WSDOT requested public feedback on two potential designs for the I-90 interchange (the final segment of the North Spokane Corridor) at the future southern terminus of the NSC. On July 13, 2023, WSDOT announced that it had chosen alternative 1. The community chose this option due to it having a smaller infrastructure footprint with greater potential for placing pedestrian bridges for future development.[21] Construction on this segment is expected to start in March 2026 and be completed by late 2030.[22]