If you want to know how vital the Hatch Bridge is, take a quick look at the detour its impending temporary closure will require. When the city of Spokane shutters the brief span over Latah Creek in the spring to repair it, drivers will lose a vital connection from Highway 195 to the South Hill and will instead be directed to drive north on High Drive, get on Interstate 90 at Maple Street and head west before circling back down 195 to get where they are going. The city is also considering a second, southern option that would send drivers down Hangman Valley Road and reconnect to Highway 195 at Smythe Road, though the exact path of that detour hasn’t been determined.