MDM Construction Inc., of Hayden, Idaho, is the apparent low bidder, at $3.7 million, to construct the first phase of the city of Spokane's long-planned extension of Riverside Avenue from Division Street northeast to Trent Avenue.

The first phase of work on the new arterial, which will be called Martin Luther King Jr. Way, will begin at Riverside and Division and run east about a half-mile through the Riverpoint Campus to about where Sherman Street would be, and then turn to the north as a new stretch of Sherman to connect with Spokane Falls Boulevard. A later phase will extend Martin Luther King Jr. Way farther east from Sherman and then north to connect with Trent.

The city's goal for the overall project is to eliminate some of the heavy traffic on Spokane Falls Boulevard as it travels through the University District, says Dan Buller, a member of the city's engineering staff.

Work on the first phase is expected to begin in March, with an estimated completion in September.

He says the extension will include a two-way bike lane and a separated pedestrian sidewalk on the north side of the street, but not on the south side, which borders the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Co. railroad viaduct.

"It will take traffic off Spokane Falls as it runs through the U-District, and right now, it's also the oversized truck route through the downtown area," Buller says, adding that the truck route will be moved over to the new street.

The new section of Sherman will run south from Spokane Falls about 600 feet to intersect with the new MLK roadway, he says. Also, Pine Street will be extended south from Main Avenue to connect with the new street.

Buller says funding for the first phase of construction includes $1.9 million from the Washington state Transportation Improvement Board, just under $900,000 from the Legislature, and $2.5 million from the federal Surface Transportation Program. Local matching funds of $500,000 also will be used, he says. That $5.8 million total project cost included the cost of purchasing right-of-way for the street, he says.

The second phase of the project is to begin at the new intersection of Sherman and MLK Jr. Way, and will run east about 3/4 of a mile on the south side of the Spokane River, then veer to Trent at about Hogan Street, Buller says. He adds that the second phase of construction most likely will begin sometime in late 2012 or early 2013, once the necessary funding has been secured and right-of-way has been purchased by the city.

Right-of-way for the first phase was secured by the city earlier this year, including two warehouses near the intersection of Division and Riverside that will be demolished to make room for the road. Those buildings were formerly owned by Washington State University, Buller says.

He says that when the city bought right-of-way for the project, it also took into account the possibility of the addition of light rail in the future.

The city recently completed a right-of-way plan for the second phase of construction, which now will go to the Washington state Department of Transportation for approval. He says the city needs to purchase portions of about 20 commercial- and industrial-zoned parcels of land before it can begin the second phase of work

Improvements to the intersection of Riverside and Division won't be included in the Riverside extension, Buller says, but will be done as part of the city's Division Street Gateway project, which is still in the planning phase.