14 • April 2013
cover story
The Splash
The city gears up for a larger-than-normal list of capital projects in 2013 be using money collected over the years into the Harvard Road Mitigation Fund — which was established in 2002 to collect funds from developers of projects that impact traffic along the thoroughfare — to pay for matching components to the project. The preliminary estimate for the total cost of the project is between $1 million and $1.3 million, Allen said. “It won’t be any more than that,” she said. “We’re thinking we have more than sufficient funding.”
By Josh Johnson Splash Staff Writer
I
t’s spring. The sun is shining a little longer each day, the dirt is getting easier to move and the staff at Liberty Lake City Hall are turning their attention to the annual checklist of capital projects.
Task 2: Public art for the Harvard Road Roundabout
If in 2013, that list appears more crowded than in recent memory, it’s because it is. “I think there’s been maybe over the past two years a growing need — “backlog” generally has a negative connotation to it — but there’s been some deferred activities,” City Administrator Katy Allen said. “Now we don’t want to defer them any longer. We really want to put a plan together to move things forward.” While the specific details of many of these projects will be revisited as they further crystallize throughout the year, Allen sat down with The Splash in late March to help take a 30,000-foot overview of 10 major projects the city will be tackling this year. Some will change depending upon grants or funding, some will adapt as more details come in — and a couple are already all-but-completed. Following is a capsulized look at 10 items on the 2013 municipal todo list.
Task 1: The Harvard Road Roundabout What will be accomplished by this project? In partnership with the Washington State Department of Transportation, one of Liberty Lake’s most dangerous intersections is getting a complete makeover. The intersection of Harvard Road, Mission Avenue and the westbound Interstate 90 off-ramp is a traffic bottleneck that many locals avoid during the busiest times of the day. The present configuration of stop signs for east-west traffic only will be replaced by a roundabout. Included in the roundabout design is low-rising andlow maintenance vegetation, a greener perimeter and a brick monument sign that welcomes the off-ramp traffic into Liberty Lake. “It’s very much consistent with the other brick monument signs that we have,” Allen said.
What will be accomplished by this project?
submitted rendering
Work on the Harvard Road roundabout is scheduled to begin July 8.
What is the timeline for completion? City and DOT officials met with citizens and local businesses again March 21 to prepare for the traffic impacts of this construction and mitigate the impact on businesses. For this reason, construction is scheduled to begin July 8 — immediately after the Ironman/Hoopfest/Fourth of July gauntlet that is busy for the restaurants and hotel near that intersection. Allen said the entire project is expected to last 60 days.
How will it be paid for? The construction of the roundabout will be paid for with a combination of federal funding, and the city will
As part of the new roundabout’s design, a 12-foot diameter, 20-foot high space for public art has been set aside. It would be located closer to the west side of the roundabout — or opposite the “Welcome to Liberty Lake” brick monument sign greeting the off-ramp traffic. A citizen group has been assembled to help select an artist and review a submittal for the City Council to approve. The reputation of Liberty Lake as a place for “gathering, music and recreation” is an anticipated theme for the project, Allen said. “We want that art to become part of Liberty Lake’s vocabulary,” Allen said. “So when you’re at that intersection, people will say, ‘You know that “blank,” that’s where you (turn).’”
What is the timeline for completion? As a separate project from the DOT’s involvement in the roundabout, Allen said the public art component won’t be installed until sometime after the roundabout’s completion — likely in 2014. Allen said the intent is to make sure it is designed and procured this year, however, so that fabrication and installation could take place as soon as all of the associated factors make sense.
How will it be paid for? The Harvard Road Mitigation Fund, which had a balance of more than $550,000 when the project was first being discussed last summer, will be tapped for the matching roundabout costs first, with remaining funds to be utilized for the public art project.
Task 3: Sprague Avenue Trail What will be accomplished by this project? submitted rendering
This monument sign would be placed on the east side of the roundabout, greeting Interstate 90 off-ramp traffic.
A 10-foot wide asphalt trail will be constructed along the north side of Sprague Avenue between Liberty Lake Road and Molter Road as well as from the Liberty Lake Golf Course clubhouse down the hill to where Sprague
See TO DO, page 15