Acme Concrete Paving Inc., of Spokane, has been awarded a contract to do about $1 million worth of reconstruction work at the intersection of Sullivan Road and Indiana Avenue, just north of Interstate 90 and east of the Spokane Valley Mall.

That intersection's surface currently is asphalt and will be replaced with concrete, which is a more durable surface for busy intersections that receive a high amount of truck and bus traffic, says Spokane Valley spokeswoman Carolbelle Branch.

"Heavy traffic, including trucks and buses, is harder on the asphalt, and when it's hot, they push it and misshape it and that makes ruts," Branch says.

Work on the intersection is expected to begin in early August and should wrap up in September, Branch says.

Sullivan Road will be reduced to one lane in each direction during construction. Various turning restrictions also will occur throughout the project, Branch says, although access to the westbound I-90 on-ramp will remain open throughout the project.

The first phase of work will involve closing the westernmost half of the intersection. During that time, a new right-hand turn lane also will be constructed on Indiana to accommodate traffic turning south onto Sullivan, she says.

During the second phase of work, the southeast corner of the intersection will be closed; and during the third and final phase the northeast corner will be closed, she says.

The repaving project is being done in a collaborative effort between Spokane Valley, Spokane Transit Authority, and the Washington state Department of Transportation, Branch says, with the majority of funding for the project coming from STA.

Branch says Spokane Valley is working to acquire rights-of-way for its next concrete-intersection reconstruction project, at the intersection of Sullivan and Euclid Avenue, but that project isn't fully funded yet.

Other future concrete-intersection projects the city has planned in its six-year transportation improvement program include Broadway Avenue and Argonne and Mullan roads; Sullivan and Kiernan Avenue; and University Road and Sprague Avenue.

The city has completed concrete intersection repaving projects at Bowdish Road and Sprague; Sprague and Sullivan; and Broadway and Sullivan.