The Washington state Department of Transportation has awarded Shamrock Paving Inc., of Spokane, a $3.8 million project to repave an 11-mile stretch of state Route 291, says DOT spokesman Al Gilson.

The project will extend between Division Street in North Spokane and the Spokane County-Stevens County line. The easternmost three miles of SR 291, between Division Street and Nine Mile Road, runs along Francis Avenue.

Utility and sidewalk work started last week, and Gilson says grading and paving is scheduled to start this week. Construction will take place between the hours of 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. He says the DOT doesn't expect any lane restrictions during daytime hours.

Work will include grinding and repaving the entire length of road and applying crack seal to the northwestern portion of the project, roughly between mileposts 9 and 11 on SR 291. Repaving work likely will be completed in phases beginning at Royal Drive heading out toward Nine Mile Falls, Gilson says. The stretch east of Royal Drive will be completed next.

Work also will include making improvements to curb ramps, installing signs, and replacing traffic signals among other safety improvements.

The project is expected to take about 75 working days to complete and likely will be finished in late September, he says.

The work will be funded largely through the U.S. Department of Transportation surface transportation motor vehicle account, Gilson says.

Current gas line work in the vicinity of Monroe Street on Francis Avenue being carried out by Avista Utilities, which is part of Avista Corp., is unrelated to the DOT repaving project and will likely continue over the next few weeks, Gilson says.