After breaking ground on its off-reservation Spokane Tribe Casino in November, the Spokane Tribe of Indians has now reportedly revealed that it will be funding the construction of a multi-lane roundabout to help visitors to better access the coming $400 million venue in eastern Washington.
According to a report from The Spokesman-Review newspaper, the decision to build the roundabout on United States Highway 2, which is to serve the entrance to the Spokane-area casino, emerged from the federally recognized tribe’s own feasibility study concerning the development currently taking shape on 145 acres of land in the small city of Airway Heights and is expected to be completed by the end of the summer.
“The results of the analysis indicated that a roundabout would be the best strategy to safely handle the increased traffic at the entrance to the new casino,” Al Gilson, Public Information Officer for the Washington State Department of Transportation, told the newspaper.
The Spokane Tribe Of Indians earlier declared that it anticipates opening the Spokane Tribe Casino by the end of September complete with a full-service restaurant, an express deli and a bar while the venue’s gaming floor is set to offer some 450 slots as well as twelve gaming tables. It stated that later development phases could see the facility enlarged via the addition of a hotel, cultural center and a tribal police and fire station.
“At more and more locations in Washington state, roundabouts are the recommended alternative for safely handling traffic at busy intersections, even on busy higher speed highways,” Gilson told The Spokesman-Review. “This roundabout along with a similar project on United States Highway 2 for the new Costco Wholesale location on the North Side will be the first multi-lane designs in the Spokane area.”