The Post Falls office of Bismarck, N.D.-based Knife River Corp. has begun work on a $508,000 city of Spokane Valley project to rehabilitate a portion of Broadway Avenue near the Spokane County Fairgrounds.

Work started at the beginning of August on the project, which includes repaving about 2,000 feet of Broadway between its intersections with Fancher and Thierman roads. During the project, Knife River also will upgrade the drywells in that section of roadway, says Spokane Valley engineer Craig Aldworth. In coordination with the project, the Union Pacific Railroad was to remove an unneeded rail spur that had crossed Broadway near its intersection with Lake Road and also was to upgrade another spur there, causing a temporary closure to the road.

Otherwise during the work, the road will be open to traffic, but with lane restrictions, Aldworth says.

He says Spokane Valley anticipates that the project will be done before the Spokane County Fair opens in September, which will ease effects on traffic.