A one and a half mile stretch of Hayford Road between U.S. 2 and the Spokane Raceway Park entrance is scheduled to be widened from two lanes to five this summer.


With all the truck traffic and development along that road, there is no way we could not improve it, says Greg Wells, supervising technician for Spokane County.


The county expects to seek bids this spring on the $3.6 million project, with construction to begin in May or June, says Wells. He estimates that the project will be completed by Oct. 15.


Nearly $2 million of the cost will be paid bya grant from the Washington state Transportation Improvement Board, which announced approval for the project in November.


Another $640,000 of the cost will be shouldered by developers as part of their county and state permit requirements to improve roads and sidewalks along land they are developing on that stretch.


The county also is seeking a federal grant to help fund more of the project, though whether the grant will be obtained is unknown, says Wells. He also says that any potential money left over from an estimated $2 million Palouse Highway project planned for south Spokane County is earmarked for the Hayford Road project. The balance of the $3.6 million cost will be the responsibility of Spokane County.


The five-lane thoroughfare will include bike paths on both sides and a sidewalk on the east side, says Wells.


A new signal system on U.S. 2 will be included as part of the project.


It will make the whole area a lot safer, says Wells.


Granite Investments LLC, of Spokane, is developing a 30-acre shopping center at the northeast corner of Hayford and U.S. 2, and Cedar Summit Estates LLC, also of Spokane, is developing a 383-unit apartment complex just north of the center. A third major development, located to the east of Cedar Summits apartments, is a planned 250-home development being built over the next eight years by Condron Homes, of Spokane.


At the southwest corner of the intersection of Hayford and U.S. 2, Altons Tire & Automotive Inc. plans to open a new store, and MV Investments LLC, of Spokane, plans to open a strip center at the southeast corner that will include a drug store, a fast food restaurant, and a bank branch, says MV Investments development partner Lowell McKee.