Construction begins June 12 on long

COLBERT – At long last, the highly anticipated intersection improvement project at US 2 and Colbert Road in north Spokane County will begin Monday, June 12. Drivers should anticipate minor delays when construction begins.

For this work contractor crews working for the Washington State Department of Transportation will construct new J-turns north and south of the current US 2 and Colbert Road intersection. J-turns, also known as a restricted crossing U-turn intersection, are placed at intersections where side roads intersect with busier highways. A J-shaped turn is added to the intersection median so vehicles entering from a side road don't need to cross multiple lanes with traffic moving in both directions to enter the busier roadway.

In this J-turn setting, drivers traveling either direction on Colbert Road will make a right turn onto US 2. Drivers will then travel into the left lane and enter a dedicated turn-lane to make a U-turn back into the opposite direction of travel on US 2. At this point the driver can make the decision to continue traveling in that direction of US 2 or turn right onto Colbert Road to complete the full crossing.

The current median intersection will remain open to traffic during construction. Once construction on the new J-turn feature is completed and opened to drivers, the contractor will begin to make safety improvements to the current intersection at Colbert Road, during which travelers will use the newly opened J-turns.

Throughout the duration of the project lane restrictions are possible in the work zone.

Several community meetings were held between 2018 and 2022 to discuss options after a series of serious and fatal incidents at the intersection. The community selected J-turns as the preferred intersection improvement option. Funding was secured, which then led to project design in 2022. In December, Halme Construction was awarded the J-turns contract. The work is anticipated to last until late August.