The city of Spokane soon will begin work to rehabilitate a stretch of Wellesley Avenue west of the Maple-Ash couplet as part of a broader effort to reconstruct several portions of Wellesley's west end.

Red Diamond Construction Inc., of Spokane Valley, is the apparent low bidder for the project with a bid of $1.5 million, says city spokeswoman Ann Deasy. She adds that the city's engineering department has recommended that the Spokane City Council approve Red Diamond's bid.

Deasy says the upcoming project—set to begin in early to mid-July—will involve just over a half-mile of roadway between Ash and Milton streets. Milton intersects Wellesley one block west of Alberta Street, and when the project is complete, almost all of the western portion of Wellesley will have been repaved, Deasy says.

Throughout the duration of construction, one lane in each direction of Wellesley will remain open, Deasy says. The intersection of Wellesley and Belt Street also will remain open, she says, although the Wellesley-Alberta intersection will be closed.

Work is expected to wrap up in October, she says. The project is being funded by the city's 10-year street bond.

Last summer, Red Diamond repaved a three-quarter mile portion of Wellesley between Assembly Street and Driscoll Boulevard. In a separate project last summer, the city awarded a $1.9 million contract to Inland Asphalt Co., of Spokane, to rehabilitate one mile of Wellesley between Division and Maple streets.

Another city transportation project is planned to begin at about the same time as the Wellesley job, and involves the installation of fiber-optic cables to connect intelligent-transportation devices along about six miles of north Division between the Spokane River and the northern city limits, Deasy says.

The low bidder for that project, at $645,000, is Spokane-based Aztech Electric Inc.

The fiber-optic cables will transfer information from traffic cameras and other equipment to provide real-time traffic information to transportation officials and the public, she says.