After a long winter, Spokane greeted summer with a handful of major construction projects underway and on the way.

From the Monroe Street Bridge replacement and major hospital projects to the new Gonzaga Basketball Arena, 41 West Riverside and the North Corridor project, Spokane is on the move.

"In the last month we've had a good surge of proposal requests," said Terry Goebel, owner of R.B. Goebel and general contractor for the 41 West Riverside multi-use office building. "We're out of the all-time low and back into operation at about 50 percent."

Here's a progress report on some of the Spokane-area undertakings:

Monroe Street Bridge Replacement

Originally built in 1911, the Monroe Street Bridge is featured on the National Register of Historic Places. The structure includes a 900-foot long open spandrel and concrete-deck arch with three main arch spans ranging from 120-305 feet in length.

This bridge connects the north and south sides of Spokane and carries approximately 25,700 vehicles each day on its four traffic lanes.

Refurbishing was necessary because of deterioration of the superstructure's concrete. F.E. Ward Inc. was chosen as general contractor with the city of Spokane for the $14 million job.

David Evans & Associates is designing and managing the project.

"We are removing all of the existing concrete, the decks, the caps and the columns down to the top of the arch," said Ted Aadland, president of F.E. Ward. "We'll be doing repair to the arch itself and pour new decks, caps and columns as replacements."

Prior to selection for final design, engineers studied the feasibility of restoring the existing bridge. They also developed a public involvement program, determined the existing safe load-carrying capacity and researched the work and funds necessary to restore the structure to its "original" condition and extend its service life by 75 more years.

"It's a remodel which is always full of surprises, but it's been a great job to partner on with the city and the designers," Aadland said.

The project requires removal of the north 180-ft.-long arched viaduct approaches and reconstruction in replica using cast-in-place and precast concrete. The deck structure will also be removed and reconstructed in replica along with the spandrel arches and spandrel columns of the three main arch spans.

All four pavilions must be removed and reconstructed, and a structural concrete overlay of the 135-ft.-long south approach will be installed. The bridge's existing cracks and spalls will also undergo repair and remain in place, and a new promenade overlook will feature interpretative panels.

The bridge's historic character will be maintained, but there will also be room for future widening of the bridge from four lanes to six.

The new Monroe Street Bridge is due for completion at the end of 2005.

Sacred Heart Medical Center

A new children's hospital will add two floors to the East Wing of Sacred Heart Medical Center. Image Courtesy of Bouten Construction

The first of its kind in eastern Washington, the new Sacred Heart Children's Hospital will serve children and families throughout eastern Washington, northern Idaho and eastern Montana.

Bouten Construction Co. of Spokane is the general contractor and Mahlum Architects of Seattle is leading the design team. The $137 million project involves two major components: Children's Hospital and the West Wing addition.

With approximately 70,000 sq. ft. of new space and nearly 15,000 sq. ft. of remodel, the Children's Hospital project will add two new floors atop the hospital's existing East Wing at Sacred Heart Medical Center.

"The existing east building was constructed in 1984 with plans to carry out the addition of future floors," said Bouten's Bill Bouten.

Once complete, the new East Wing will be renamed "Sacred Heart Children's Hospital."

The new space will feature several outpatient children's clinics, an 18-bed inpatient pediatric oncology unit, outpatient pediatric programs and a sky bridge connection to the existing inpatient pediatric unit in the main patient tower due for completion in late August.

The remodeled space will house a new after-hours pediatric unit, as well as a gift shop for the Children's Hospital.

A new Women's Center and Surgery Center is set to occupy a seven-story West Wing expansion at Sacred Heart Medical Center. This major addition includes 270,000 sq. ft. of new space plus a 60,000-sq.-ft. remodel of the existing Main Building.

The new West Wing addition will feature mechanical/electrical support spaces, central processing and distribution, 24 surgery suites, outpatient women's services programs, an obstetrics department, a neonatal intensive care unit and one shelled floor for future medical center expansion.

In addition, the new West Wing will connect back to the Main Building via several corridors and sky bridges.

The structure includes poured-in-place concrete with two adjacent steel structures. One of the steel structures adds two floors to the existing Main Building and the other involves building three new stories over Seventh Avenue on the north side of the new wing.

"The construction efforts are complicated by tight and inaccessible site constraints," Bouten said. "Approximately 10,000 cu. yds. of rock were blasted and removed from the site during the early construction process."

Construction started in June 2002 and the new center will be ready for occupancy in late-summer 2004. At this point, the remodeling phase will begin with a completion date of December 2005.

Holy Family Hospital

Holy Family Hospital in north Spokane is a work in progress. The major expansion started in August 2001 and is due for completion by December.

Bouten Construction Co. was hired in November 1999 to assist with providing preconstruction services during the planning phase of the project, and Earl Swensson Associates of Nashville is the project architect.

Work includes adding 73,000 sq. ft. of new space as well as 13,000 sq. ft. of renovation. Upon completion, the new and existing space will be occupied by a new emergency department, outpatient/inpatient imaging department, shelled space, a new outpatient entrance, partially remodeled surgery area, cardiac rehab service area and a high-speed elevator to serve a relocated rooftop helipad for emergency landings.

"This project has been complicated by efforts being made to minimize disruption to regular ongoing daily hospital operations," Bouten said.

To accommodate hospital needs, the project was divided into 18 construction phases. First efforts were focused on building the new square footage and allowing the remodel to occur once the hospital moved into the new space.

The emergency department was completed in late-February and the new imaging department space was completed in early May.

Gonzaga Basketball Arena

Gonzaga University in Spokane awarded a $23 million contract for a new 6,000-seat arena to a design-build team that included Garco Construction, ALSC and Ellerbe Becket.

The new venue will be just east of the current Martin Centre and will feature three levels and a 128,000-sq.-ft. arena. Construction began April 14 and is due for completion in October 2004.

Garco Construction is also constructing a new 12,000-sq.-ft. auto dealership for Dishman Dodge of Spokane and is busy working outside of Spokane on several other projects.

41 West Riverside

The new 41 West Riverside building features five stories of office space and on-grade parking for tenants. Image Courtesy of R.B.Goebel

Spokane's newest Class "A" office space, 41 West Riverside, is designed with "1880 elegance in a 2003 building." The five-story structure to be built by R.B. Goebel General Contractors will house 56,000 sq. ft. of professional space in a European-style building with all the latest amenities.

A major bank featuring a drive-through facility is set to occupy the entire ground floor and on-grade parking will be provided for tenants. Occupancy of 41 West Riverside is slated for November.

41 West Riverside is on the east side of Browne Street, between Riverside and Sprague.

North Corridor Update

An idea first conceived in 1946, the proposed North Spokane Corridor is a 60-mph, 10.5-mi.-long limited-access corridor linking Interstate 90 and the existing U.S. Highway 395.

Designed to provide major improvements in safety, motorist movement and freight in and around metropolitan Spokane, the NSC will feature a major link allowing for movement of freight between the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

The multimodal corridor includes constructed pedestrian/bike paths and right of way set aside for future light rail.

The Federal Highway Administration approved the final environmental impact statement for the project in 1997. A supplemental statement was approved in September 2000 for the segment from the Spokane River north to US 395 at Wandermere.

"We're through the EIS hearings," said Washington DOT project engineer Mike Gribner. "And the latest legislative funding has allowed us to move forward on the next section."

Gribner said construction on the North Corridor from 395 at Wandermere to Francis Avenue should recommence in early fall.

"It's a lot of bang for the buck," he added. "We're looking at having a drivable length of about 4 mi. by the wrap of this contract anticipated for the summer of 2008."

Gribner said he is pleased this section is not only moving forward, but will also be used right away.

"This was really designed for usage," he said. "Fifteen-thousand cars a day will be driving this, so it's a good interim utilization of this piece of the corridor."