Council adopts Resolution 2054 to amend Spokane Valley 2025 Transportation Improvement Program

Spokane Valley — Following a public hearing, the City Council on April 15 adopted Resolution 2054 to amend the 2025 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) to add one project and shift several others into 2025.

Adam Jackson, Engineering Manager, explained the 6-year TIP is a planning document that identifies capital projects and that state law requires a public process before capital funds are used. The amendment adds the Thorpe Road Bridge (Chester Creek) project, which staff initially identified as a maintenance need that inspection work showed required full structure replacement. Jackson said the city manager has contract authority to execute the related contract up to about $300,000 for that element; the amendment also pulls certain South Barker Corridor and Wellesley preservation segments into 2025 and updates values where market prices and schedules have changed.

Council Member Merkel asked about average cost changes from 2024; Jackson replied he did not have a summarized delta but could provide it as an Excel exercise. City Manager John Holman clarified the amendment is a planning-year correction to reflect work that was postponed by weather or other conditions and that the amended TIP does not itself authorize individual contracts — those still return to council for procurement and contract award as required by city code.

During the public hearing John Harding asked whether the Thorpe bridge work would be reinforcement or replacement; staff said inspection showed more work was required than originally expected and that the amendment ensured the project was accurately programmed in the year it would be delivered. The council adopted the resolution; the vote recorded one dissent — Council Member Merkel — and the resolution passed.

Quotes in this article are drawn from Adam Jackson, John Holman and Council Member Merkel as recorded in the April 15 transcript.