The city of Liberty Lake awarded last month the contract for its planned $1.7 million repaving and improvement project on Appleway Boulevard, says Katy Allen, city administrator for Liberty Lake. 

“Appleway is a very important street in our city for businesses,” Allen says.

Poe Asphalt Paving Inc., of Post Falls, received the contract, Allen says. Welch Comer Engineers, of Coeur d’Alene, is the engineer for the project. 

The project will include grinding down and replacing the existing asphalt on Appleway from Liberty Lake Road to Fairway Lane, a distance of approximately 1.2 miles, Allen says. 

“It’s mostly an asphalt project, but we wanted to take the opportunity to do other improvements as well,” she says. 

Therefore, the project also will include adding some streetlights, pedestrian crossing enhancements, and a landscaped median, Allen says. Appleway barely has any streetlights currently, she says. 

“The visibility is very challenging,” she says. “We’ve had situations where people have gotten off transit buses and tried to cross, and have been hit.”

In addition to streetlights, the city also will be putting in some flashing beacons at pedestrian crossing zones, she says. 

Construction probably will begin this spring and should take about three months to complete, Allen says. 

“We did also add in night work, so the work that has the largest impact will be done between seven at night and six in the morning,” she says. 

About $990,000 of the project is being funded by a grant from the Washington State Transportation Improvement Board, says Allen.