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56-449: The project culminates Spokane Transit's long-term planning efforts, which date back to the early 2010s, to transform the heavily-utilized, existing #25 Division bus route running along Division Street into a high performance transit (HPT) corridor. Voter passage of Spokane Transit Proposition 1 in 2016 began the first phases of the transformation, by funding interim improvements to passenger amenities, bus size, and increased service hours of

112-556: A $ 1.2 million grant request to the Federal Transit Administration to study ways the route could be improved to handle an increase efficiency and an increase in passengers. Early ideas included installing dedicated bus and business access lanes, traffic signal prioritization, off-board ticketing, and increasing bus frequency. The STA Board cited another desire for the study – recognizing the potential for infill development and redevelopment of land to occur along

168-575: 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. 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

224-727: A bus rapid transit line remained unknown. However, in December 2019, STA and the Spokane Regional Transportation Council began a $ 1 million study to evaluate how transportation and land-use along the North Division Street corridor could be transformed after the anticipated 2029 completion of the North Spokane Corridor , which is expected decrease traffic levels along Division Street. The reduction in traffic would allow

280-459: 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

336-528: A history of transit service along the corridor and has historically been home to one of the busiest bus routes in the Spokane Transit Authority system, carrying nearly one million passengers annually. However, despite the corridor's prominent role in transportation in Spokane, transit service along the corridor through the late-2010s was relatively basic, with sparse amenities, average frequencies, and smaller 40-foot buses. On July 21, 2010,

392-751: A second roundabout for southbound traffic at Freya Street. The final project on the north half of the 10-mile route was the Parksmith Road Interchange. 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

448-502: Is a 10.5-mile-long (16.9 km) freeway —with 7 miles (11 km) complete and currently operational—running north–south along the eastern border of Spokane, Washington and parts of unincorporated Spokane County to the north. The $ 2.2 billion (2009 dollars) project is designed to improve freight and commuter mobility through the Spokane metropolitan area . As of 2023 , only the northern half from Wellesley Avenue to U.S. Route 395

504-484: Is described to run from Downtown Spokane, northward along Division Street and Newport Highway to a terminus near the city's northern border at Hawthorne Road, following the alignment of a majority of the already-present bus route along Division Street. The three-phase HPT implementation strategy for the route included near, mid, and long-term development stages, beginning with improving capacity, expanding service hours, and improving passenger amenities. Mid-term strategies for

560-542: Is expected to increase. 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. 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

616-458: Is expected to significantly improve traffic through north Spokane. In particular, the highway will allow trucks to avoid congested Division Street, formerly the only north–south truck route through the city. By moving cars from congested streets to a freeway, WSDOT predicts that it will reduce auto emissions by 3.6% annually and save a million gallons of fuel a year. It will also reduce predicted traffic growth on Interstate 90, as new residents move to

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672-544: Is far from certain. The environmental impact statement predicted more development in Pend Oreille County and Deer Park north of the city. The North Spokane clock tower was slated for demolition for the freeway but the alignment was adjusted to prevent from the demolition from happening. The Spokane Transit Authority (STA) is planning a bus rapid transit (BRT) line for the Division corridor, similar to

728-504: Is open to traffic; the southern half received state funding in 2015 and is anticipated to be completed by December 2030. The project is being managed by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) and will ultimately create a freeway with a speed limit of 60 mph (97 km/h) along a new alignment linking Interstate 90 (I-90), to the existing US Route 395 (US 395) 10.5 miles (16.9 km) to

784-649: The Washington State Legislature passed a $ 16 billion state-wide transportation package that would include a $ 50 million appropriation for developing bus rapid transit along Division Street. It is also anticipated that federal funds will cover an additional $ 75 million toward the project. As of May 2023, the City Line project was projected to be under budget and in July, the STA board voted to allocate

840-454: 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. After 33 years of further discussions and proposals,

896-406: The "Y" (historical US 395 and US 2 split) and Wandermere will no longer be in the state highway system. This includes about one-half mile of the new section of Division Street just north of Farwell Road. Plans for a North Spokane Freeway date back to 1946. Earlier projects were cancelled due to other priorities and local opposition. The current project began construction in 2001. The idea of having

952-586: The Division Street corridor. Projects would upgrade the existing Division bus route into an HPT "Lite" line, incorporating some of the near and mid-term improvements identified in F1 corridor HPT implementation strategy. Upgrades to passenger amenities such as enhanced shelters and additional sidewalks began to be implemented. In the summer of 2017, STA took delivery of three new 60-foot articulated buses, expanding its existing fleet of articulated buses to be enable

1008-586: The Division-Ruby Street couplet, located in the southern portion of the corridor. The couplet currently features four, wide traffic lanes running in each direction, which afforded the opportunity for creative proposals including converting Division and Ruby streets back into a two-way streets and installing two-way cycle tracks . Throughout the study, general support was found for a fixed guideway bus rapid transit line on dedicated side-running Business Access and Transit (BAT) lanes. On April 15, 2021,

1064-647: The Freya Street overpass and is the whole project is anticipated to be completed by 2027 or 2029, depending on funding. Grading and paving of a section between Freya Street and Central Avenue was completed in September 2019, but remains closed to traffic. In October 2019, the second realignment of the BNSF Railway tracks began to make way of further construction of the NSC; one month later, Wellesley Avenue

1120-633: 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. Construction on this segment is expected to start in March 2026 and be completed by late 2030. The highway

1176-518: 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

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1232-577: The North Spokane Corridor will result in substantial land-use changes in the area. The completion of I-90 resulted in growth in eastern suburbs that were once small towns, while many neighborhoods in the center of the city experienced poverty and decline. It is predicted that growth and development will occur near the interchanges of the new freeway while areas near connecting sections will remain poor neighborhoods. Whether modern growth management laws will prevent sprawl in northern suburbs

1288-576: The North Spokane area instead of elsewhere along the Interstate. There are 62 known or suspected hazardous waste sites in the freeway's path. A 1997 report by WSDOT noted that the construction of the southern portion of the freeway will require the demolition of over 500 homes and 100 business, necessitating the relocation of over 1,000 residents. Many of these homes and business are in the poorest and most ethnically diverse neighborhoods of

1344-654: The Spokane Transit Authority Board of Directors adopted a new comprehensive plan for public transportation in the Spokane region. The plan, called Connect Spokane , included a section dubbed High Performance Transit (HPT), which was described as a network of corridors "providing all-day, two-way, reliable, and frequent service which offers competitive speeds to the private automobile and features improved amenities for passengers." Six HPT corridors were initially identified, with Division Street being one of them. The plan has been updated several times over

1400-557: The Spokane Transit Authority board officially approved the side-running BAT alignment option as the Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) for bus rapid transit development along the Division Street corridor. Within the two-way mainline portion of Division Street, the adopted side-running option would convert the outer-most lane in each roadway direction into BAT lanes. In the Division-Ruby Couplet,

1456-534: The adopted side-running BAT lane alignment of the Division BRT line. Early design visualizations suggest stations will be based on the same design as that of Spokane's other bus rapid transit line, City Line , with glass windscreen and roof panels set along a curvilinear roof beam form, along with off-board ticketing kiosks, raised platforms, branding pylon, and real-time transit info displays. Spokane Transit will run 60-foot, zero-emission articulated buses along

1512-466: The alignment will run in shared bus lanes , specifically Business Access and Transit (BAT) lanes, that will be reserved for transit vehicles but permit access to other vehicles for local business access and turning movements. Station locations along the route are still being finalized, but early studies show stations at major arterial intersections along the route, with additional stops spaced approximately every 1/4 to 1/3 mile. In May 2023, STA previewed

1568-403: The alignment, vehicular mode, and other BRT strategies. As of 2022, the corridor is in preliminary design to finalize among other things, station and termini locations. A parallel study is also being led by the Spokane Regional Transportation Council to study increased land-use density along the corridor. As the main north-south arterial street through Spokane, North Division Street has long had

1624-485: The backbone of a traffic network and should be designed to afford the highest level of service , as is practical, as per the aforementioned "Traffic Engineering Handbook". The construction and development of arterial roads is achieved through two methods. By far the most common is the upgrading of an existing right-of-way during subdivision development. When existing structures prohibit the widening of an existing road however, bypasses are often constructed. Because of

1680-473: The board adopted Side-Running Option C, which would maintain Division and Ruby in their current one-way street configurations, but add a parking lane to Division Street, and install a two-way cycle track along Ruby Street. BAT lanes would be installed in the right-most lane of Division and Ruby. In summer 2021, STA put a request for proposals to select an engineering firm to further develop the bus rapid transit project. As of 2022, Spokane Transit will be advancing

1736-486: The busier junctions. Speed limits are typically between 30 and 50 mph (50 and 80 km/h), depending on the density of use of the surrounding development. In school zones, speeds may be further reduced; likewise, in sparsely developed or rural areas, speeds may be increased. In western Canada, where freeways are scarce compared to the rest of North America, flashing early-warning amber lights are sometimes placed ahead of traffic lights on heavy signalized arterial roads so

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1792-470: The city. WSDOT purchased many properties in Hillyard and other neighborhoods in 2002. Businesses have been allowed to remain operating until construction actually begins. Ziggy's store closed on November 20, 2010, after 45 years in business because of the construction of the freeway. Homes and churches have also been relocated. Based on history with the construction of Interstate 90, it is forecast that

1848-645: 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

1904-498: The corridor is expected to carry over 150,000 vehicles per day. The North Spokane Corridor is part of Washington's state highway system and, upon completion, will fully adopt the US 395 designation. Currently, the WSDOT considers the corridor a spur of US 395 and refers to the roadway as "Future US 395" on its official state highway maps and roadway guide signs . The ultimate route of

1960-505: 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. 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

2016-413: The freeway. Because the corridor's northern end ties in with a portion of US 395 that was redeveloped into a limited-access highway in the late 1990s (with the construction of a new bridge over Little Spokane River , a full interchange at Hatch Road, and the creation of median-separated lanes extending 3.3 miles beyond Hatch), the completion of the corridor will create a fully controlled-access highway from

2072-423: 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. On June 13, 2012,

2128-817: The highest level of service possible. Therefore, many arteries are limited-access roads , or feature restrictions on private access. Because of their relatively high accessibility , many major roads face large amounts of land use and urban development, making them significant urban places. In traffic engineering hierarchy, an arterial road delivers traffic between collector roads and freeways . For new arterial roads, intersections are often reduced to increase traffic flow . In California, arterial roads are usually spaced every half mile, and have intersecting collector(s) and streets. The Traffic Engineering Handbook describes "Arterials" as being either principal or minor. Both classes serve to carry longer-distance flows between important centers of activity. Arterials are laid out as

2184-483: The highway runs from I-90, just east of Downtown Spokane, northward about 10.5 miles (16.9 km) meeting the existing US 395 at Wandermere, just north of Spokane. The northern end of the corridor was constructed as a seamless connection to the existing US 395, rerouting the existing highway onto the North Spokane Corridor. The construction of this interchange replaced the existing alignment of US 395 that flowed directly onto Division Street, with an exit to Division off of

2240-661: The largely-commercial Division Street, which would gradually transform it into a denser, mixed-use corridor, thereby increasing the already-high transit demand along the corridor. The Division Street corridor is identified in the High Performance Transit (HPT) section of the Connect Spokane plan as route "F1", and is part the plan's HPT-Frequent category, which stipulates a line that provides moderate speed, with high access and frequency, focused on multi-modal first/last mile connections. The route alignment

2296-448: The locally preferred alternative for 27 potential station locations. The route spans from 2nd Avenue and Wall Street, through downtown, north on Division street until Hastings road, near Whitworth University , where the route turns East and terminates at a new Mead Transit Center on the intersection of Highway 2 and Farwell road. Station design has not been finalized, however, it is expected that all stations will be side-boarding, based on

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2352-607: The north in the Wandermere area. When completed, the multi-modal facility is expected to have general travel lanes, with right-of-way reserved for a future high-capacity transit system with park-and-ride lots. Additionally, a pedestrian and bicycle trail will run along the entire highway alignment. The project is ranked 19 of 43 on the Congressional High Priority Corridor list of the National Highway System . When completed,

2408-784: The opportunity to convert existing traffic lanes along the corridor into dedicated bus lanes, as well as allow for some portions of roadway to be reclaimed for bike lanes . Through 2020 and 2021, a steering committee composed of officials from the City of Spokane , Spokane County , Washington State Department of Transportation , also participated in the study. Members of the public, landowners, and stakeholders also were given opportunities to provide feedback in online open houses. Several options for bus traffic alignment were studied, including dedicated center-running bus lanes, dedicated side-running bus lanes, as well as business access and transit (BAT) lanes. Highly transformative options were also studied for

2464-453: The placement and general continuity of arterial road corridors , sewers, water mains, conduits and other infrastructure are placed beneath or beside the roadbed. In North America, signalized at-grade intersections are used to connect arterials to collector roads and other local roads (except where the intersecting road is a minor side street, in which case a stop sign is used instead). In Europe, large roundabouts are more commonly seen at

2520-401: The possibility of running larger buses on its busiest routes such as Division. An additional seven articulated buses were delivered in 2018, allowing STA to run 60-foot buses on its Division route full-time. Because STA's 2016 ballot measure only included funding to bring the Division corridor up to an HPT "Lite" service status, the timeline and funding for full transformation of the route into

2576-468: The preliminary engineering of the project, with the intent of submitting the project into the FTA Small Starts program for entry into Project Development sometime in 2023. Contingent upon funding, the line could begin construction as soon as 2025, with a 2027 launch date. The line is projected to cost between $ 120 and $ 150 million dollars. Project funds are still unknown, however, in March 2022,

2632-505: 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. 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. Construction on the southern half began in early 2017 with work on

2688-440: The route included enhanced vehicles, improved frequency, and additional amenities and park and rides. Long-term strategies would transition the route to electric bus rapid transit vehicles in center-running transit-only lanes. With voter approval of Spokane Transit Proposition 1 in November 2016, Spokane Transit embarked on implementing projects identified in its STA Moving Forward initiative, which included transit improvements to

2744-478: The route, similar to the equipment selected for the City Line. Arterial street An arterial road or arterial thoroughfare is a high-capacity urban road that sits below freeways / motorways on the road hierarchy in terms of traffic flow and speed . The primary function of an arterial road is to deliver traffic from collector roads to freeways or expressways , and between urban centres at

2800-545: The route, which have upgraded the existing route into an HPT "Lite" line within the Spokane Transit network. Full conversion into a bus rapid transit line represents the last stage of developing the route into a full HPT corridor within the STA system. Once open, the BRT line will replace the current bus service that runs along the corridor. In April 2021, Spokane Transit Authority adopted a locally preferred alternative for

2856-1073: The speed limits can be raised to speeds of over 80 km/h. These warning lights are commonly found on high-speed arterial roads in British Columbia. The width of arterial roads can range from four lanes to ten or even more; either as a dual carriageway or sharing a common center lane, such as a contraflow lane or as a central turning lane. As with other roadway environmental consequences derive from arterial roadways, including air pollution generation, noise pollution and surface runoff of water pollutants. Air pollution generation from arterials can be rather concentrated, since traffic volumes can be relatively high, and traffic operating speeds are often low to moderate. Sound levels can also be considerable due to moderately high traffic volumes characteristic of arterials, and also due to considerable braking and acceleration that often occur on arterials that are heavily signalized. North Spokane Corridor The U.S. Route 395 North Spokane Corridor ( NSC )

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2912-452: The state highway system. Nevertheless, it will be easy for motorists on US 2 to avoid this by using the freeway instead of Division Street. On the north side, a full interchange has been constructed at US 2 in the Mead area near Farwell Road. This route uses the entire North Spokane Corridor except the northernmost one mile (1.6 km) section between US 2 and Wandermere. Division street between

2968-683: The unused local funds to the Division Street BRT . In September 2023, the Federal Transportation Administration (FTA) approved the Division BRT for project development phase. The Division BRT route will mostly follow the North Division Street corridor through Spokane, running north from Downtown and terminating north of Spokane near Mead. Studies are currently being done for the route's northern and southern termini locations. Most of

3024-454: The vicinity of Hatch Road to I-90. The North Spokane Corridor is planned to bypass the busy Division Street corridor. The new freeway will carry the US 395 designation and run about one mile (1.6 km) east of where it was originally planned in the 1960s and 1970s. While the new freeway would also be a good routing for US 2 to bypass Spokane, that highway is scheduled to stay on its current routing in order to keep most of Division Street in

3080-401: The years, with a significant update to the High Performance Transit section in 2012 through 2013 as part of the agency's STA Moving Forward planning process to drastically improve and expand in the region over the long term. Work to begin developing the existing #25 Division bus route into a high performance transit line began in April 2012, when Spokane Transit's Board of Directors approved

3136-507: Was closed off to traffic. Construction of the new segment began in May 2021 and the railroad realignment was completed in August. The section between Freya Street and Wellesley Avenue was opened to northbound traffic on November 16, 2023, extending the freeway by 1.5 miles (2.4 km) and into the city limits of Spokane. The section's southbound lanes opened the following day. In 2023, WSDOT requested public feedback on two potential designs for

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