Spencer Street extension finishing up in Post Falls
POST FALLS — Just as Tom Lien was asked for another update on the Spencer Street project, the Post Falls Urban Renewal executive director had news to share.
BNSF Railway, Lien learned on Monday, is working on building the rail crossing as one of the final pieces of the project.
"It should only take a few days to complete this," Lien said. "Then the contractor will put in some asphalt on the roadway tying into the crossing. At that point, we should be close to opening although there will be some minor punch-list items to finish.
"The intersection signalization poles and lights have been put in place and can be activated after the road is opened."
Lien said it's possible the extension could be open to traffic in about two weeks.
The $1.2 million extension project just west of Dairy Queen and south of Seltice Way was anticipated to be finished last fall before winter weather set in. It is being mostly funded through the urban renewal agency.
Most of the project was completed in November, but the lack of a railroad crossing only allowed a portion of the extension to open to traffic.
Only Spencer from Second Avenue to the northeast corner of the Lucky Pines mobile home park — one block — opened.
The entire Spencer extension is less than half a mile. It is intended to provide quicker and easier access to Seltice Way for Pine Villa residents living in the vicinity of Ponderosa Elementary and allow development to occur in a vacant pocket of east Post Falls.
Hydroseeding of the swales along Spencer will also be done this spring.
The total project cost, including rights of way acquisition, is $1.8 million. The URA is funding $1.7 million of the cost, while the city funded improving a small part of Spencer that is outside the urban renewal boundary with street impact fees.
Urban renewal districts have a base tax rate when the district is created. That base tax rate continues to be collected by the county and remitted to taxing entities over the life of the district. As a district is improved, has new construction and increases in value due to improvements, the incremental tax created by those improvements in excess of the base tax is allocated to the URA to pay for the public improvements that have been made within the district. In most cases, the tax increment received by the agency is used to reimburse proponents who have completed and paid for the improvements and dedicated them to the city prior to reimbursement.
• Meanwhile, nighttime lane restrictions in the eastern-most northbound lane continue tonight and Thursday on the pedestrian trail being constructed along Highway 41 from Seltice to Mullan Avenue. The restrictions, which are necessary to construct concrete curb and ramps, are slated from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. Completion of the project is expected for early May.
W.M. Winkler Co. won the construction contract for $518,132, which does not including design and engineering.
The city received a $500,000 Community Choices grant from the state to fund most of the project. The urban renewal agency also contributed $300,000 in matching funds.