Post Falls approves $6.7 million Seltice Way rebuild with utilities work

Post Falls city councilors approved a $6.7 million phased rebuild of Seltice Way that will put one of the city’s busiest east-west corridors under construction for two seasons, with limited closures expected at McGuire Road and Chase Road.

The project is expected to hit drivers first, then the businesses and utility customers that depend on steady access along the corridor. City officials said public outreach will be used to reduce disruption, but the work will still reshape traffic patterns around a stretch that carries daily commuter traffic and serves as an important connection through Post Falls.

The bid documents show this is far more than a paving job. The rehabilitation and pipeline project includes roadway reconstruction along with curb, gutter, sidewalk and drainage work, plus forcemain piping for sewer and reuse water. That underground work reflects a larger city priority: fixing the systems below the surface at the same time the pavement is rebuilt above it.

The winning contractor is MDM Construction Group, Inc. Project manager Jaxon Fleshman said the job will take two construction seasons. Andrew Arbini, the city’s projects division manager, said it is the first full roadway rebuild he has been part of in city work, and he said the new road is expected to last about 20 years.

The project has been years in the making. In July 2024, city officials told council the pavement between McGuire Road and Chase Road was already in poor condition and patching had only bought time. Arbini said then that the roadway still had U.S. 10 highway concrete underneath it. The earlier estimate for the work was $10 million, with about two-thirds of the cost expected from the wastewater capital fund and the rest from the streets capital fund.

By the time the bid package went out Feb. 24, 2026, the scope and financing had shifted. Bids were due March 24, after a non-mandatory pre-bid meeting on March 10 and addenda issued March 12 and later. In the April 2026 report, officials said about half of the cost comes from the utilities budget, with the rest from the streets budget and the city of Rathdrum.

That outside coordination matters because the corridor’s utility network crosses jurisdictional lines. City officials said the work required coordination with Rathdrum and the East Greenacres Irrigation District, underscoring how a single street project can reach into sewer, reuse water and irrigation systems serving the broader Kootenai County area.

The council’s approval also fits a bigger growth story. In April 2026, councilors were discussing the city’s Transportation Master Plan while noting Post Falls has grown to just under 50,000 residents and could eventually reach 100,000. For a city under that kind of pressure, the Seltice Way rebuild is meant to replace short-term patching with a corridor built for heavier traffic, stronger utilities and the next phase of growth.