The city of Spokane has awarded a $1.1 million Greene Street bridge upgrade project to Kirkland, Wash.-based Leewens Corp., says city spokeswoman Julie Happy.

The bridge is located in the projected path of the long-envisioned North Spokane Corridor, near the Spokane Community College campus in east Spokane.

The repair project, which is expected to start next month and last through the end of October, will involve making improvements so the Washington State Department of Transportation can lift weight restrictions on the four-lane span.

The bridge currently has a maximum weight restriction of 40 tons for trucks and trailers, Happy says.

Steve Hansen, engineer with the city planning department, says the bridge will remain open during the project, but traffic will be restricted to one lane on each side of the bridge.

Happy says the work will include installing laminated carbon fiber reinforcement to the bridge deck. The project is being paid for with federal highway administration general funds and city of Spokane arterial street funds.

"With the north-south freeway, we're trying to get it up to load weight so we can run the larger trucks over there," Happy says.

To date, the DOT has completed half of the proposed 10.5-mile-long North Spokane Corridor, also known as the north-south freeway.

Currently, Graham Construction Inc., of Spokane, is continuing work on a $14 million Francis Avenue bridge replacement project, which was started roughly a year ago, tied to the NSC.

Once complete, the almost $2 billion freeway will connect Interstate 90 to the south with U.S. 395 in the Wandermere area to the north.