Marlene Feist, Director of Strategic Development, Public Works & Utilities, No Phone Number Available
Thursday, June 8, 2017 at 4:48 p.m.
The City’s work to improve the health of the Spokane River is in full swing. Work began in May on another big project—a 1.4 million -gallon concrete, underground storage tank in park land to the east of TJ Meenach Drive, below Northwest Boulevard.
Additionally, stormwater ponds, new landscaping, underground infrastructure, and new paved pedestrian pathways are included in this work. Clearwater Construction, of Spokane, is the contractor on this $8 million construction project, which will continue until the end of summer 2018.
While most of the work will have limited impact on traffic, the project does require multiple pipe connections that will require a closure of TJ Meenach from north of the bridge to Northwest Boulevard. That closure is slated to begin July 10 and last until the end of August. Traffic will be detoured onto Pettet Drive, which was recently resurfaced, then to Maxwell to the Maple/Ash Corridor.
Ultimately, the project will help prevent overflows from combined wastewater and stormwater sewers from entering the river. In some parts of the City, wastewater and stormwater sewers are linked together and during periods of heavy rain or rapid snowmelt, these pipes can become overwhelmed and overflow to the river. Tanks like this store the excess water until the storm surge subsides and the water can be sent to the Riverside Park Water Reclamation Facility for treatment.
All of the work is part of the City’s Cleaner River Faster initiative. The City is investing more than $300 million in projects to improve water quality in the Spokane River. The Cleaner River Faster initiative also encourages the City to include above-ground benefits when completing underground infrastructure work. In this case, that emphasis will result in the new pedestrian trail and overlooks.
