Work on the long planned and highly debated North Monroe Corridor project is set to begin early next month, says Marlene Feist, a Spokane city spokeswoman.

The $8.8 million project will reconfigure a 1.1-mile stretch of Monroe Street between Indiana and Kiernan avenues from its current five lanes, with two in each direction and a turn lane, down to three lanes, with one in each direction plus a turn lane. The project also will include widening sidewalks on both sides of Monroe, making wider on-street parking spaces, and improving three crosswalk areas with lighted beacons at key intersections.

In an effort to speed up the construction, Feist says city officials have chosen to break up the work into two chunks with complete closure of four-block areas as the work is ongoing. 

“We’re still working out a definitive schedule for the project, but we’re expecting work will last from April through the end of construction season this October,” she says.

Feist says the project has been divided between two Spokane-based contractors. Red Diamond Construction Inc. will handle $4.5 million in work, and Murphy Brothers Inc. will take on a $4.3 million project.

She says Red Diamond will begin work on the north end of the project, beginning at Dalton Avenue and heading north to Kiernan Avenue, while Murphy Brothers begins work on Monroe from Carlisle to Chelan avenues.

When that work is done, the closures will move south, with Red Diamond constructing the section from Grace to Euclid, while Murphy Brothers begins work on the street from Indiana to Montgomery, she says. 

Feist says Post Street will serve as the main detour route during the project, and as work moves along a single cross-street will remain open in the middle of each section at Cora, Fairview, York and Knox avenues, which should allow motorists to cross Monroe while work is ongoing.

The North Monroe Corridor project began as a part of an Emerson-Garfield neighborhood plan that the City Council adopted in 2014. However, in recent years the project has sparked some controversy, with both business owners and community members expressing concerns over traffic complications and possible loss of business during construction closures.