Centennial Trail Closure Near Mission Park, Spokane: What's Still Closed

"All of us would be happier if it were just done quicker." Santiago Rodríguez-Anderson, chair of the Chief Garry Park Neighborhood board, said that to The Spokesman-Review in April. He was talking about the North Spokane Corridor. He also called the new Children of the Sun Trail a "big benefit" for neighbors who want to walk across the river.

Six months later, the walk he described still depends on dates that have already passed. Three projects touch the river between Mission Park and Spokane Community College. Each one published a finish date for 2026, and all three dates are now behind us. The City of Spokane's weekly street obstruction notice has kept up better than any of them, and its October 9–16, 2026 edition is the most accurate map of the east-side river edge right now.

Posted Dates Next to the October Notice

The trail sign you saw in August and the trail you find in October may not agree.

The Mission Park Stretch Kept Its Detour

The closure most east-side walkers and riders run into is the one near Mission Park. On August 11, Washington State Parks posted that the Centennial Trail near the park would close from Sunday, August 17 through October 4 so the City of Spokane could finish sewer work under the trail. The notice links a detour map.

October 4 was a week ago. The city's October 9–16 notice still lists the Centennial Trail closed between Superior Street and Sharp Avenue. The Friends of the Centennial Trail site now carries a banner that reads "Temporary detour near Mission Park until early December." The banner has no posting date. No source explains why the work ran past October 4.

The work itself is unglamorous and necessary. The Desmet & Superior Sewer Reroute replaces a 10-inch sewer line near Desmet Avenue and Superior Street. According to the city, the old pipe deteriorated from settlement and hydrogen sulfide damage. The new line has to cross both the BNSF railroad and the Centennial Trail to reach an existing siphon vault. The project page lists a total cost of $1,056,892, paid from local utility rates. It says construction began in July 2025, would resume in summer 2026, and was estimated to finish in late summer 2026. That last estimate is now out of date.

Since the crossing runs under a rail line and a trail at the same spot, it explains why the trail closure can't be skipped with a short side path. Until the trail reopens, the State Parks detour map is the official route. Its last published end date has already passed, so it's worth checking the Friends banner for an update before heading out.

The Bridge That Was Supposed to Finish the Loop

The Mission Park detour would matter less if the second river crossing had opened. It hasn't been announced as open.

The Children of the Sun Trail runs beside the North Spokane Corridor south from Wandermere. Today it is a finished trail as far south as Columbia Avenue and Carlisle Avenue in Hillyard. That stretch opened in June 2024, and the remaining minor work wrapped up in March 2025. WSDOT has said the river crossing will connect this trail to the Centennial Trail and Spokane Community College.

Here's how the schedule for that connection has moved. In February, The Spokesman-Review reported that the river crossing had been due to finish in late 2025. Last year's operator strike stopped the project for about two months, and that pushed the finish into winter, when construction stops. Project engineer Alexandra Proszek estimated the crossing would be done "at most, three months into the construction season." The pedestrian bridge would be finished around the same time and open to the public "soon after."

By April, the paper's estimate had moved to "this summer."

It's now mid-October. WSDOT's river crossing project page still shows the project in construction. The page lists a timeline of "May 2023 - Spring 2026" and also says work will last through the 2026 construction season. The city's October notice still has Ralph Street closed between Euclid Avenue and Upriver Drive and Riverton Avenue closed under the Greene Street Bridge for the river crossing. A KREM report quoted WSDOT's Nicole LaGoo saying the bridge near Spokane Community College is complete. In the same report she said connections to local neighborhood roads still remain. No source announces a ribbon cutting or opening date for the pedestrian span.

For now, the Children of the Sun Trail is a north-side trail. Its listed access points run from Wandermere Center south to Columbia Avenue. Trailhead parking is at Wandermere Center, near Freya Street by the URM Stores building, and at Columbia Avenue and Market Street.

Why the Streets Around the River Feel Busier This Month

The trail closures are one part of the picture. The streets that would take you around them are in their own work season. The same October notice lists:

• Trent Avenue down to one lane each way between Ralph and Fiske streets for a city water main, with Desmet, Thor and Cataldo streets closed to through traffic
• Ralph Street closed between Trent and Boone avenues
• Northbound Greene Street closed between Ermina and Carlisle avenues, with southbound Greene down to one lane, during bridge deck resurfacing
• Havana Street closed between Broadway and Boone avenues, with a detour
• Night closures of the inside lanes of Sprague Avenue between Fiske and Greene streets, listed from 8/26/26 to 10/23/26
• Lane closures on Freya Street with flaggers between Wellesley and Queen avenues, listed from 8/18/26 to 10/16/26

Most of the Trent work is prep for the next corridor stage. Kuney Construction began the Mission-to-Alki stretch in June. The Spokesman-Review called that roughly 1-mile, $224 million project the most expensive transportation project in Eastern Washington so far. It includes a partial interchange at Trent where drivers will be able to get on the corridor heading north and get off at Trent heading south. The city planned to move water lines under Trent, Syndicate Boulevard, Ralph Street, and Cataldo and Desmet avenues in a roughly $1.5 million project. It was expected to start in April and finish by late fall.

The bigger closure is further off. Building the roundabout at the Trent interchange will close Trent Avenue for about 45 days between North Fiske Street and East Desmet Avenue. That work isn't expected until 2028 or possibly 2029.

What's Already Built Along the Way

Not everything on this stretch is waiting on a date. At the corridor's current southern end near Spokane Community College, the columns carry embossed artwork by Spokane artist Melissa Cole. Her designs show feathers, balsamroot and other natural features. Farther north, the Euclid Avenue bridge abutments in Minnehaha have day and night mountain scenes, and a locomotive mural is planned for abutments near Hillyard.

Closer to Mission Park, the Friends of the Centennial Trail list a planning-stage project called Logan Square Activation & Safety Improvements. It covers the vacant lot between Superior and Columbus streets at trail mile 21. No construction schedule has been published. The Mission Park splash pad at 1208 E. Mission ran its usual season, May 22 through September 8. That's a regular seasonal closure and has nothing to do with the trail work.

If your fall routine runs from Logan toward the Gonzaga end of the trail, our piece on Hamilton Street's fall reset covers the other side of the neighborhood. West-side trail users dealing with a similar reopening story can see our update on Bowl and Pitcher.

Checking Before You Head Out

These sources update at different speeds. Here's how to check them, in order:

1. Read the City of Spokane's weekly obstruction notice. The October 9–16 edition is the one that still lists both the Mission Park trail closure and the river-crossing street closures.
2. Check the Friends of the Centennial Trail homepage banner for the Mission Park detour. It currently says "early December."
3. Use the Washington State Parks detour map for the Mission Park segment. Its listed end date is out of date, but the route is still the official one.
4. Check WSDOT's river crossing page for the Children of the Sun bridge. As of this week, it still shows the project in construction.

The corridor's longer timeline hasn't changed. WSDOT spokesman Joe McHale told The Spokesman-Review that the full North Spokane Corridor is on track for completion in late 2030. The Spokane Journal of Business has reported it could be late 2030 or early 2031.

If you own a home a few blocks from this work and wonder how buyers might see the corridor between now and 2030, Bill Richard Real Estate Group can walk through it with you in plain terms. A free home valuation is a calm place to start.