SPOKANE, Wash. –Construction on 29th Avenue from Grand Boulevard to Ray Street has been ongoing for three months and has impacted local businesses.
The grind and overlay project is projected to finish before August, and Kirstin Davis with the City of Spokane said it is a much better option than completely rebuilding the road.
“It prevents us from having to do a full rebuild if you will so we would have to close the street completely. It’s inconvenient for a few months but it could be much worse, or not accessible at all for a much longer period of time,” Davis said.
Miller’s Hardware near the corner of 29th Avenue and Regal St. said they have seen a minor drop in business but that the construction will be worth it in the end.
“[Business is down] Maybe 10 percent. Most people are just trying to avoid the area which I can’t say I blame them… It’s not bad right now stuff is actually moving. We ran into backups when they were actually paving,” Jeff Heston, an employee of Millers Hardware, said.
Davis agreed that when grinding or paving occurs, the largest backups can happen, as more road spacers are needed for those machines to operate, restricting the flow of traffic. The construction comes in four phases, and the project is currently in phase three.
“But right now, what we are doing this week is raising those utility access points and then we will be ready to pave again around the week of the 24th,” Davis said.
Davis mentioned that peak times of day between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. as well as the mornings there may be a need to allow for extra time to travel through the area, but noted that Spokane Public Schools gets out of school Friday the 14th. She said this can lead to less congestion on 29th street and allow for shorter wait times when moving through the area.
Additional grind and overlay projects around the city can be found here.
