Long awaited work on I-90 Beck Rd. interchange will happen this year.

Exciting news for the west end of Post Falls as work will finally start on the interchange of I-90 and Beck Rd. which will serve as the main access to the 200 acre Pointe at Post Falls commerical development currently being built by Foursquare Properties of Carlsbad,Ca. .The project is right now home to the Post Falls Cabela's store,a Wal-Mart supercenter and the Sysco food service distribution center.Lowe's also began planning a store in the project in 2009,last I had heard that project was to also start in 2012 but have not heard anything official,I had also heard the project was to have a strip mall area with a San Francisco Sourdough Eatery but i'm assuming since I haven't heard of that now in a couple years that plan is off.The freeway interchange is now in the design stages by a company called Ralph L. Wadsworth Construction Co. out of Utah.The project will not only link in The Pointe at Post Falls but also the nearly dead North Idaho Outlet Mall on Riversbend Ave. because as of the last plan I personally saw;the south end of the interchange is to merge in with the end of Riversbend in a round-a-bout style allowing traffic to use Riversbend past Greyhound Park and the Simplot Co. site to connect to the new Beck Rd. which would be built up south of Seltice Way and head north to Cabela's and eventually Seltice Way and Stateline.A move that will hopefully help the North Idaho Outlets as the entire property is nearly vacant and with the new traffic,some of which visitors and tourists who are trying to access the Cabela's store,should help lease out at least some of the mall's 180,000 square feet.But the new interchange will also help with The Pointe at Post Falls as it too has struggled a bit in the last couple of years. Foursquare Properties already has said they think the interchange will help to restart the project hinting of possible retailers,resturants and hotels that have already expressed interest but cannot confirm any at this time,although one of those possible retailers may be Target which I had heard but never confirmed was interested.Foursquare is paying to build the interchange and will once it is done they will hand it over to the Idaho Transportation Department.The construction companies contract is for 21 million dollars and the involved parties confirm the construction will happen in 2012 a move that Post Falls and the entire Inland Northwest has been waiting for.Now if we could only get that Greensferry interchange,but that's a whole other post for a different day....