SPOKANE COUNTY, March 13, 2018 – The Spokane County Public Works Department was joined this morning by elected officials and state agency representatives for a groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate the start of construction on the Bigelow Gulch-Forker Road Interchange. The $9.4 million project is the next phase of the Bigelow-Forker Urban Corridor. The interchange features a redesigned intersection where Bigelow Gulch and Forker Road meet. The work is scheduled for completion this fall (late September-early October). The county has already completed Phases 1 (Havana to near Palmer) and 3A (Bigelow/Argonne intersection). 

During the groundbreaking ceremony, County Commissioner Josh Kerns (pictured left) highlighted how the corridor will improve public safety and reduce the number of crashes on Bigelow Gulch. He was followed by Commissioner Al French (right) who listed the other transportation corridors that the project feeds into, the improvement to freight mobility, and the positive impact it will have on economic development.

Project Background
Beginning in 1997, Spokane County saw daily traffic increasing on Bigelow Gulch and Forker Roads, especially truck and freight traffic. The combination of traffic volume and truck traffic on a narrow, curvy roadway has led to a high number of accidents, some of them fatal. To make Bigelow Gulch/Forker, safer, provide freight mobility, and reduce traffic congestion, Spokane County proposed a phased plan to widen and improve the roadway and, when finished, complete the corridor from north Spokane to the City of Spokane Valley. 

The project will straighten and widen both Bigelow Gulch Road and Forker Road to meet the objectives of improved safety, reduced traffic congestion, and support of state and regional freight mobility initiatives.  These improvements are referred to as the “Bigelow Gulch/Forker Corridor Project”. 

For more information, go to www.spokanecounty.org/2724/Bigelow-GulchForker-Rd-Urban-Connector.

Spokane County received grant monies from the U.S. Federal Highway Administration, Washington State Freight Mobility Strategic Investment Board, and the state's County Road Administration Board.