Spokane Valley awards $2.01 million contract for Sprague Avenue preservation; council requires vibration monitoring

The Spokane Valley City Council on Sept. 2 unanimously awarded the Sprague Avenue Preservation at SR‑27 contract to Inland Asphalt for $2,006,789 and authorized the city manager to finalize and execute the construction contract.

The project covers Sprague from Bowdish to McDonald and will upgrade stormwater facilities, realign curb ramps at Houck to current ADA standards, overlay the roadway with a 2‑inch asphalt grind-and-overlay and restripe lanes to narrower widths intended to calm traffic while keeping the same number of travel lanes. Engineering Manager Erica Amston said the work will not eliminate lanes or reduce capacity.

Amston said the project will include curb‑ramp upgrades and a paving “fabric interlayer” advertised as an alternate required by the federal funding type. “It will increase the quality of the street and the longevity of the street,” Amston said, explaining the interlayer reduces reflective cracking where new asphalt overlays old concrete.

Nut graf: The project is largely grant‑funded, bid substantially below the engineer’s estimate and includes new conditions requested by council and the public. Council members and staff stressed that the work is a preservation overlay — not a reconstruction — and that the contract contains provisions intended to limit construction impacts on adjacent businesses and historically sensitive buildings.

Council and staff details Amston told council the project went to bid Aug. 22 with three bidders; Inland Asphalt was the lowest responsible bidder at about 16% under the engineer’s estimate. She said the city will use NHS federal funds first (0% local match) and other grants to pay remaining costs; any unspent grant dollars would be deobligated and return to their source funds, including the stormwater fund (402) and the pavement preservation fund (311).

On scheduling and impacts, staff said paving would generally occur at night and the contractor must provide a public liaison to coordinate with adjacent businesses; staff will distribute mailers and do door‑to‑door outreach once the contractor’s schedule is set. City Manager John Homan and Amston cautioned that the schedule can vary with weather and the current operator strike affecting availability of paving crews.

Council members pressed staff on construction impacts. Amston said vibration monitoring was added to the contract after meetings with the Spokane Valley Museum, which had expressed concern about a recently renovated facade. “We added vibration monitoring into our contract following our meeting with the museum and the discussions on the facade,” Amston said.

Council member questions and public comment Council members asked why lane widths are being reduced and how the extra roadway width will be used; Amston said the roadway will retain its existing overall width and that the city will stripe a shoulder to occupy the reclaimed width, producing a traffic‑calming effect. Public commenters raised concerns about cost and timing: resident Mike Dolan asked whether the $2 million project should be delayed to help next year’s budget shortfall and criticized outreach that he said only targeted businesses. Another resident asked whether narrowing lanes could increase speeds or liability; staff replied the existing lanes were unusually wide in places and that narrowing typically produces lower travel speeds.

Timing and contract terms Public works staff said the contract allows 35 working days for construction (suspended for inclement weather), roughly seven weeks, and described the work as one of the least disruptive types of pavement preservation. The council approved the award and the authorization for the city manager to finalize the contract by voice vote; the motion passed unanimously.

Ending: The project will move to contract execution and then to preconstruction coordination; staff said they will return to council with details such as exact schedule notices to businesses and any required traffic control plans.