Getting There: North Spokane Corridor project beginning summer 2026 to be most expensive in Eastern Washington history

In Eastern Washington's most expensive transportation project to date, the North Spokane Corridor will be built over Freya Way and into a partial interchange on Trent Avenue.

The roughly 1-mile stretch of corridor from Mission to Alki avenues will cost $224 million and build off of the "Dukes of Hazzard" style road to nowhere hovering next to Spokane Community College, Washington State Department of Transportation spokesman Joe McHale said. The project is funded through the state Legislature.

"You know, the narrative for the longest time was 'It's never going to be built in my lifetime; it's never going to get done. I'll believe it when I see it,' " McHale said of the 10-mile freeway project, which began construction in 2001 after about 45 years of planning. "But I mean, you're seeing it. It's there and it's impressive and we're getting very, very close."

The latest project was awarded to Kuney Construction in February, which has built more than 20 bridges on the corridor and is currently building the stretch between Alki and Sprague avenues. Company President Max Kuney said the Trent interchange will be the highest dollar value transportation project Kuney Construction has worked on . He expects the project to take around three years, after they start in June . Specific dates have not been solidified.

The existing roadway leading up to Mission has been gradually ramping upward in order to clear the already-elevated portion of Freya, which passes over BNSF railroad tracks. Reaching a maximum height of 44 feet from ground level, clearance on Freya will be 21 feet for southbound travelers and 17 feet for northbound. The highest point on the corridor is farther north, above Wandermere Road, at 80 feet.

At the partial interchange at Trent, people will be able to merge onto the corridor to head north or exit the corridor onto Trent while heading south. According to the transportation department's website, roundabout construction at the interchange will mean a 45 -day closure of Trent Avenue between North Fiske Street and East Desmet Avenue.

Also this summer, the corridor section crossing the Spokane River is slated to be completed - a year late, after a nearly monthlong operator strike in 2025. Alongside the river overpass will be a pedestrian bridge, part of the Children of the Sun Trail, which follows the corridor down from Wandermere and ties in with the Centennial Trail near the community college.

Residents of the Chief Garry Park Neighborhood generally have mixed feelings about the corridor that has been under construction for years, chair of the neighborhood board Santiago Rodríguez-Anderson said. For some, having a north-south freeway will shorten morning commute times. For others, the piers supporting the road seem like they may attract unsavory characters or behaviors to the site, as some large overpasses appear to do in other metropolitan areas. Mostly though, construction is loud and causes traffic.

"All of us would be happier if it were just done quicker," he said, adding that the Children of the Sun Trail offers a "big benefit" to locals who want to walk across the river.

After the stretch from Mission to Sprague avenues is finished, the last big project on the corridor will be the connection to Interstate 90. Envisioned to include ramp improvements and three roundabouts in addition to the interchange structures , the state transportation department website lists the total cost as $305 million, which will beat the Mission to Alki project as the most expensive in Eastern Washington history by $81 million. The state owns all the land needed to finish the project.

Though planning periods for the architectural side of the corridor are largely concluded, McHale said that community members can still get involved in the planning process for landscaping treatments that will surround the roadway during a workshop this summer. This could include tree plantings, green spaces or pollinator gardens, he said. Workshop dates remain to be determined. New information will be posted on the Engage WSDOT website.

"We want to include the community in this process as much as we can and give them a voice and opportunity to say what they want to see on the freeway," he said.

McHale said that the North Spokane Corridor is on track for completion in late 2030.

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This story was originally published April 27, 2026 at 8:10 AM.