A couple of major transportation projects are slated for Liberty Lake this year; both which come with some significant state funding. According to the Liberty Lake Splash, A roundabout is slated for the intersection of Mission and Molter and Liberty Lake Road will be overhauled in 2016.
The plan is to bundle the two projects together to be bid on by construction companies interested in building them. This is expected to save money and make sure the work is being done at the same time.
Funding from the Washington Transportation Improvement Board (TIB) will cover 80 percent of the $580,000 cost of the roundabout. The Liberty Lake Road project is expected to cost about $1.2 million and TIB money will pay for about 78 percent of that. Funds from the city’s 3-percent utility tax on cable, phone gas, electric and waste management will pay for the rest of each project.
The Liberty Lake Road upgrade will include new pavement, medians, a pedestrian crossing, lighting, additional turning lanes and widened sidewalks. Adding a free right-hand turn onto the I-90 onramp is expected to improve traffic flow.
The roundabout at Mission and Molter is aimed at preventing vehicle backup near the Meadowwood Technology Campus. Six hundred new employees will eventually work at the new Comcast office now under construction at the site.
Both projects are planned to start sometime this spring and wrap up by early summer.