The city has been awarded a $5 million grant from the Washington State Department of Transportation’s (WSDOT) Railroad Crossing Grant Program to help construct the Pines Road/BNSF grade separation project.The grant brings to close the city's initiative to secure nearly $40 million to begin construction on the project in spring 2024.
The grant was announced late Friday, Dec. 2, by State Senator Mike Padden of Spokane Valley. Senator Padden championed the grant program in the 2022 transportation package "Move Ahead Washington" to help local governments leverage state matching funds against nationally competitive, federally funded grant programs. “These improvements are incredibly important to Spokane Valley and the surrounding region because they offer so many benefits: fewer collisions, less congestion, better emergency access, a boost to economic development and more,” said Padden, a member of the Senate Transportation Committee. “This grant is a big win because it provides the needed state match for federal funding. The grant now provides enough money for the project to begin.”
“Senator Padden’s efforts in Olympia were instrumental for Spokane Valley,” stated Spokane Valley Mayor Pam Haley. “This $5 million award leverages $30 million of federal funds to deliver this important project. We look forward to working with all our project partners to begin construction as soon as possible.”
Under the project, the city will replace an at-grade BNSF railroad crossing on Pines Road (SR 27) with a new underpass, eliminating four hours of vehicles delay each day. It will also replace the signalized intersection at Pines/Trent Avenue (SR 290) with a multi-lane roundabout, and construct an adjacent shared-use path. The project will also include the development of a new Centennial Trail trailhead and parking area that will have restrooms, electric vehicle charging stations and non-motorized access. The trailhead will be located on land donated by Avista Utilities.
The city has formally sought federal and state funding for this project since 2017. In addition to the $5 million WSDOT grant, the city has secured:
$21.7 million - Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE)
$10.2 million - Spokane Regional Transportation Council (Surface Transportation Block Grant and Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality)
$1 million - Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements Grant
Avista Utilities - land donation for trail access valued at nearly $800,000
The grade separation project is in a USDOT-designated Historically Disadvantaged Community, which has a poverty rate of at least 20 percent as measured by the U.S. Census Bureau. Trent Avenue is a key arterial for commercial truck traffic traveling to and from north Idaho and Canada. Completion of the underpass and roundabout will improve access to Interstate 90 and to 170 acres of nearby mixed-use/commercially zoned property.
An economic impact analysis of the project conducted in 2016 quantified the projected economic and tax impacts as:
$1.3 billion in total economic output in Spokane County ($686 million in direct spending)
8,719 new jobs supported in Spokane County (4,312 direct job impacts)
$8.2 million in new general fund taxes to Spokane Valley (over 25 years)
$101.9 million in new general fund taxes to Washington State (over 25 years)
Learn more about the Pines/BNSF grade separation project at spokanevalley.org/PinesBNSF.
Original source can be found here.
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