State budget shuffle results in Almota Road repavement funds

Washington’s budget quagmire has resulted in an accelerated time frame for Whitman County to finish its Almota Road repaving project.

Public Works Director Mark Storey learned last week the county would receive $886,000 from the state County Road Administration Board’s 2009-2010 biennial budget to begin work on phase four of the Almota Road repave.

“I really didn’t think we’d get anything this time around,” he said. “This gets us that much closer to finishing the project.”

The road is the primary route used to haul grain to the port of Almota from the west and central reaches of Whitman County.

The funding comes from money made available by state transportation officials because of pressure from the legislature.

The state has historically kept about $40 million in a reserve fund to offset county road emergencies. Storey said Legislators wanted to take that money to balance the state’s operating budget.

Instead of allowing that money to be put into the general fund, state officials decided to release it to county road agencies to fund projects like Almota phase four.

Blasting crews began work last week to make rock for phase two of the Almota project. That section runs more than three miles from Duncan Springs intersection to the Sommers Road intersection at Union Flat Creek.

The fourth phase of the Almota Road upgrade extends from the top of Henning Hill to the junction with State Route 194 at the top of the Almota grade. The actual descent down the grade is State Route 194.

Because the pavement on the fourth phase is in worse shape than that in the third phase, the state’s county road arterial board decided to fund it first. The board has granted $886,000 to phase four in the 2009-2010 biennium.

Total cost for the fourth phase is estimated at just over $3 million. Storey said this year’s funding virtually guarantees the state will provide the remaining cost in its next funding cycle to get the work underway.

A portion of this year’s funding will be used for engineering and permits. Remaining funds will be held for construction. Storey said the rebuild for phase four would not begin until the 2013 construction season at the earliest.

Completion of phase four will leave phase three, from Sommers Road to Henning Hill, as a “missing link.” The status improves the chances of funding by the state board in the futures, Storey said.

The M.A. DeAtley firm of Clarkston has the contract to repave phase two. DeAtley was awarded a $2,308,438 contract on the job.

The road was rebuilt from the Colfax city limits to Duncan Springs Road in 2007.

Storey said last Monday paving on phase two should begin once the weather dries out, likely May or June.

The road surface was chewed up and a new sub-structure was built last summer and fall, but the job was shut down for winter before paving.