Stateline bridge expected to open Nov. 1
<p>Workers remove railings from atop the Stateline Bridge over the Spokane River as the construction efforts enter into the finals stages for the bridge reopening date of Nov. 1.</p>
POST FALLS - Relief is in sight for businesses near Stateline that have been hampered by the construction of the Appleway bridge.
The two-lane bridge with a 10-foot-wide pathway, which replaces a structure built in 1939, is expected to open to traffic on Nov. 1, a few months ahead of schedule.
"It's affected business because people have to go out of their way to get here and they don't want to leave for work earlier," said Laurie Huck, a supervisor at the Seltice Way Stop'n Go. "But a lot of people have adapted."
Huck said the business generally runs three registers five or six days a week, but has only been running that many on Fridays and Saturdays during construction. She expects that will change with the bridge opening.
"We're training two new employees for when the bridge opens," she said.
Meanwhile, another major project in the Stateline area, the Interstate 90 interchange at Beck Road, expected to spark the development anchored by Cabela's and Wal-Mart, is expected to start in the spring and take about a year to build.
The project is out to bid until Oct. 19.
"They've gotten the permission slip from the federal government to start construction," said Eric Keck, Post Falls city administrator.
The city and Idaho Department of Transportation Department is expected to review construction plans over the winter.
Keck said the only pending hurdle is developer Foursquare Properties' acquisition of right of way on the south side of the freeway from Jacklin Land Co.
The interchange, estimated to cost $35 million, is the first project in Idaho to utilize the State Tax Anticipated Revenue (STAR) legislation approved in 2007. The legislation allows private developers to initially fund projects before being reimbursed through sales tax revenue from the project.
On the bridge project, Neil Carroll, Spokane County's bridge engineer, said a key to finishing the project early was getting an environmental extension from the Washington Department of Fish and Game.
"That permitted us to stay in the water longer and allowed us to get further along with the foundations than we thought," Carroll said.
Carroll said the $6 million bridge should have a lifespan of at least 75 years. It will feature an aluminum railing with a pine tree for Washington, the evergreen state, and a kayaker.
Carroll said part of the bridge was reconfigured to avoid affecting a popular kayaking spot.
Construction on the 16-acre RiverView resort at the state line next to Cabela's could start next year.
"We are fully approved for RiverView and have interest from a few hotel groups," developer Alan Johnson of Hughes Investments wrote in an email to the Press.
Plans call for three hotels, a sit-down restaurant, a fast-food restaurant, a gas station and expresso stand.
Hughes Investments' 56-acre project at the northeast corner of highways 95 and 54 in Athol continues to be stalled by a lawsuit filed the Idaho Transportation Department. ITD proposed to buy 16 acres in the middle of the site for a future interchange, but Hughes didn't accept the offer.
The project is proposed to have a grocery store, travel center, restaurants and a hotel.