A private developer, Foursquare Properties Inc., of Carlsbad, Calif., which is developing the Pointe at Post Falls retail project, is moving forward with plans to construct a new freeway interchange at Beck Road and Interstate 90, on the west edge of Post Falls, with work possibly to begin this fall.

Earlier, it had been thought the project might start this spring, but it still is awaiting federal approval, says Bill Melvin, a Post Falls city engineer.

Foursquare Properties will initially pay for the work, which could cost about $25 million, depending on which of three possible configurations is selected, Melvin says. Foursquare then will be reimbursed by the state of Idaho through a sales-tax reimbursement measure approved by the Legislature in 2007, Melvin says. Under that measure, which creates what is called sales tax anticipation revenue, the state will reimburse developers partially for projects such as the interchange with sales tax revenue generated within the development area.

The Beck Road-I-90 interchange is slated to be the first project in Idaho to utilize that sales tax funding mechanism. Once the interchange is complete, it will be owned by the Idaho Transportation Department, Melvin says.

"Hopefully, the development would be brisk enough the interchange would pay for itself soon," Melvin says.

The proposed interchange would ease traffic congestion at the nearby Stateline interchange, and would enable more commercial development in the area of Beck Road, Melvin says. The Pointe at Post Falls, a 200-acre retail and commercial development that includes a Cabela's Inc. sporting goods store, is located near where the new interchange would be constructed.

Beck is a north-south road that intersects Seltice Way to the north and currently ends just north of Interstate 90. On I-90, it's about midway between the Stateline interchange and the Pleasant Road interchange.

The developer is seeking approval from the Federal Highway Administration to construct the interchange. Once that's obtained, along with environmental clearance, a design will be finalized and steps will be taken to begin moving earth in the fall. Melvin says construction could take one "aggressive" year to complete.

HDR Engineering Inc., of Coeur d'Alene, is the primary engineering consultant for the project and is managing development of the interchange for Foursquare Properties. The city of Post Falls is part of a technical advisory committee, which also includes the Idaho Transportation Department, the Washington state Department of Transportation, and the Post Falls Highway District, that is overseeing the development of the project.