Elberton road to close for bridge replacement

The Elberton Road off Dry Creek Road will be closed next month while county road crews replace the Curtis Bridge at the top of the grade which drops down to the North Fork of the Palouse River and Elberton. The bridge spans a drainage ditch on a hairpin curve.

Because of the location of the bridge on the steep hill, a detour route around the construction site is not possible.

Public Works Director Mark Storey said the county will replace the bridge with a culvert and gravel deck. The 50-year-old Curtis Bridge has a wood plank deck.

County commissioners Monday unanimously passed a resolution to authorize closure of the road from June 1 to July 15.

Storey said construction is estimated to begin in early June. Work could extend two to three weeks

Also Monday, the county awarded three contracts to crush rocks for county road projects.

Shawnee Rock was awarded two of the contracts; one for $77,620 to crush 19,000 tons of rock at the county’s Thera quarry between Endicott and Diamond, and a $172,770 contract to crush 47,000 tons of rock at the Gordon quarry near St. John.

Shawnee’s Thera bid topped quotes from DeAtley Crushing of Clarkston, N.A. Degerstrom of Spokane and Tunnel Hill Granite of Chelan. The firm’s bid on the Gordon quarry topped DeAtley, Degerstrom and Peak Sand & Gravel of Spokane.

The county estimated a $116,500 cost for crushing at Thera and a $235,000 cost for crushing at Gordon.

Seubert Excavators of Cottonwood was awarded a $209,908 contract to crush rock at the Pullman-South stockpile site. The firm’s bid for the estimated $239,585 project topped a $404,789 quote from DeAtley.