Work is expected to begin soon on an up to $2 million project in Post Falls to reconstruct the intersection of state Route 41 and Seltice Way and reconfigure on- and off-ramps to Interstate 90 there.


The long-awaited project will satisfy concerns raised by Albertsons Inc., a Boise-based grocery chain that hopes to build a store near the intersection, says Bill Melvin, Post Falls city engineer.


Planning for the project started as the result of a traffic-impact analysis that Albertsons did that showed the need for the improvements, Melvin says.


An Albertsons spokesman said recently that the chain still plans to build at the Post Falls site and only has been waiting on the road improvements to move forward.


Construction of the road project will begin as soon as a contract for the work is finalized, and should be finished by late this year, Melvin says. Construction bids for the work were due late last week.


The project will involve modifying Exit 7 from eastbound I-90 to have it feed onto a four-way intersection at Seltice Way, instead of in its current T-shaped configuration at Seltice. That will be accomplished by creating a new road, which has not yet been named, that will extend south from Seltice to Third Avenue, Melvin says.


The eastbound on-ramp to I-90 will be moved south on state Route 41 so that it creates a five-way intersection at Seltice and the state highway, he says.


Eastbound Seltice Way also will be widened near that intersection to add a second left-turn lane, and Highway 41 will be widened from Seltice north to Mullan Avenue, he says.