Transport to be improved by new road

The Washington State Department of Transportation has completed the drivable segment of US 395 North Spokane Corridor.The road will impact how some Whitworth students, faculty and staff get to the school.

The construction project will start changing access points to Whitworth, said Brian Benzel, vice president of finance and administration and chair of the North Spokane advisory group.

“The university is beginning to prepare for a major entrance from the northeast off of Whitworth drive,” Benzel said. He added that earlier there had been thoughts of vacating that street.

Graduate and continuing studies students, faculty and staff will likely be affected most, Benzel said.

“Essentially what it will do is put Whitworth a lot ‘closer’ to the valley than it’s ever been,” he said.

Along with possibly impacting the direction Whitworth will be approached from, the new corridor could impact traffic around Whitworth, especially on North Division Street, Benzel said. This is one of the benefits of the road that the WSDOT anticipates.

“Fewer trucks will be on the local arterials, because they will be using the freeway for north and south destinations points,” according to the WSDOT Web site.

The idea to build the corridor is not new according to a WSDOT publication. The idea was actually conceived in 1946, although the first construction project did not begin until August 2001. The project still has a long way to go.

“[Completion] of the project is still 20 to 30 years away,” Benzel said.

However, school officials are already considering its effects as they write Whitworth’s long-term plan.

“It’s beneficial to begin to develop a link to the project because it affects us in a number of ways,” Benzel said.

Contact Evanne Montoya at evanne.montoya@whitworthian.com.

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