Project Overview
The purpose of this project is to plan, design, and engineer a redevelopment of the US 2 corridor between Lundstrom and Lawson. The project will enhance safety and function for pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit along a key one-mile stretch of US 2. The project will implement concepts developed in the 2017 US 2 Corridor Plan and 2021 Downtown Strategic Plan, improving community connections, increasing ease and safety to access daily needs, decreasing reliance on automobiles to safely cross the highway, and providing more options for alternative transportation. This re-imagined space would drastically change the streetscape to create a ‘downtown’ with pathways, sidewalks, bicycling facilities, roundabout traffic control, congestion and speed calming measures, improved pedestrian crossings, and transit stations. The development of the design is through the public engagement process and an equity impact assessment to address disparity in access to services north and south of the roadway.
Two grants are funding this project: the STBG for design and roundabouts between Lawson and Lundstrom and the Sandy Williams Connecting Communities Pilot Program – a state program administered by the Washington State Department of Transportation will fund the design and engineering for the remainder of US 2 from Craig Road to Garfield Road. The programs are intended to reshape transportation corridors to be more sensitive to the communities they serve.
Public Engagement Opportunity:
Safety Open House
Please join us on Monday, October 7th, 2024 for our 2nd Safety Open House! Click here or on the button below for more information.
Project Design Team
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Century West Engineering
PROJECT PRIME; CIVIL DESIGN
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Ardurra
TRANSPORTATION & LANDSCAPE DESIGN
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SCJ Alliance
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT & LAND USE PLANNING
About the Project
The City of Airway Heights applied for and received a grant from the Connecting Communities Pilot Program to reshape the US 2 corridor through the community’s central business district. This grant is intended to implement the corridor design concepts introduced and studied in the City’s US 2 Corridor Study and Downtown Strategic Plan, creating an identity-rich streetscape consistent with community needs.
This project’s design – Phase #1 of a larger corridor design effort – will be complete by June 2024. It will consider a complete redesign of the corridor between Lawson and Lundstrom, with new sidewalks and paths, intersection treatments, pedestrian crossings, effective speed controls, and an enhanced street front environment facilitating pedestrian activity and, by extension, local business success.
Funding and scheduling for Phase #2 is not yet determined. This subsequent effort will consider design options for the remaining portion of US 2 within Airway Heights’ city limits, implementing design concepts from the US 2 Corridor Study. Click the button below to learn more.
Community Engagement
Airway Heights community members will have frequent opportunities to review and comment on the corridor design. The City will host two open houses and two “pop-up” events, each intended to report on the design process and solicit suggestions for the design team’s consideration.
Open House #1: This open house – held in early February 2024 – will focus on the corridor’s conceptual design. Visitors will see how the concept evolved from the schematic designs advanced in the US 2 Corridor Plan and Downtown Strategic Plan. This level of design will address alignment, allocation of the right of way for automotive and pedestrian use, and intersection design, tackling important details on how to make the concepts fit within the allowable space. Thank you for attending our first design workshop! Please visit the Phase #1: Lawson to Lundstrom page for more detailed information on this event.
Open House #2: The second open house, in late March 2024, will focus on a preferred design concept, displaying what is considered a 60% level of design. This will include revisions to the 30% design presented in February, with additional detail examining landscaping, street furniture, and any other special treatments planned for the corridor. This design workshop is happening soon! Please visit the Phase #2: Craig to Garfield page for more detailed information on this event.
Pop-Ups: The two pop-ups, set for late spring and early summer of 2024, will display the final corridor design. Visitors to the pop-ups will be invited to comment on the project and to offer tips on how the City can approach its design of the rest of the US 2 corridor.
Click the button below to learn more.
Related Projects
Airway Heights has been thinking about what to do with its US-2 corridor for a long time. The community sees the highway as its main street, but the sheer scale of it and the development which has occurred along its edges – while serving many of the community’s needs – is not consistent with the type of character the community hopes for. Recent planning efforts focused on shaping the corridor’s concept, incorporating public art, encouraging development, and addressing regional needs for continued traffic mobility. Click the button below to learn more.
