Spokane County has awarded an $800,000 contract to Spokane Rock Products Inc., of Spokane, to reconstruct about two miles of roadway on Strong and Five Mile roads in the Indian Trail area. Meanwhile, N.A. Degerstrom Inc., of Spokane Valley, has submitted the low bid of $270,000 for another county project, to repair the Rutter Parkway Bridge, which carries Rutter Parkway across the Little Spokane River north of Spokane.

Both projects will be paid for with federal stimulus money, says Chad Coles, a Spokane County contract engineer.

During the work on Strong and Five Mile roads, which likely will begin shortly after July 4, sections of the roads will be closed at times. The project is expected to be completed by the time school begins this fall, he says.

The aging roadbed along the project route, which includes Strong between Rustle and Five Mile roads and Five Mile between Strong and Berridae roads, has failed, Coles says. The Five Mile portion is north of a city of Spokane project to widen a busy stretch of that road south of Lincoln Road.

In the county project, the contractor will "reclaim" the two-lane road surfaces by grinding them up and adding cement so they can serve as part of the roadbed. Then, the contractor will pave over the top of the roadbed with a three-inch layer of hot-mix asphalt, Coles says.

Meanwhile, the county expects to award a contract soon for the planned repairs to the deteriorating Rutter Parkway Bridge, Coles says. Beginning in about mid-July, the bridge will be closed while N.A. Degerstrom works on the 40-day project.

The contractor will install stainless steel sleeves around the bridge's 20-foot tall pilings and will fill the spaces between the sleeves and the pilings with cement grout to strengthen the columns.

The contractor also will repave the concrete deck of the bridge, and place so-called "rip-rap" material around the columns to help prevent further scouring of them by the river, Coles says.