Neighbors object:Crow Road remains in county’s system

After hearing from neighboring landowners, Whitman County commissioners put off a decision Monday on Public Works Director Mark Storey’s recommendation they abandon Crow Road near Oakesdale.

Meanwhile, commissioners unanimously voted to take a portion of the File Road north of Oakesdale off the county grid.

Storey said the Crow Road is not necessary to the county’s transportation system because it is a "duplication of routes."

However, the Crow family, which owns land around Crow Road, said during Monday’s public hearing that it was important for their farm operation.

"There are a lot of our trucks that go that direction," said Brian Crow. "And Ken Kilpatrick uses it a lot, too."

If the county abandoned the road, ownership of it and a bridge over Trestle Creek would go to the Crows as adjacent landowners.

Mac Crow said their farm sends 27 loads of grain per day down the road during harvest. He doubled that figure to account for Kilpatrick loads.

The short Crow Road provides access to a valley off the Trestle Creek Road near the Eckhart Road intersection. An abandoned farmstead home sits on the hillside above.

Commissioner Greg Partch said Kilpatrick in a phone call earlier in the day told him he was also against the abandonment.

Partch pointed out during the hearing they could still use the road after the abandonment because it would be their property.

Brian Crow said the planned improvements would raise intersections with the main roads, making it harder to get from the valley to the roads above.

Storey’s plan for abandonment would include a wider turn area at the Eckhart/Trestle Creek intersection. He said that would make the whole area safer.

There have been two accidents in the area during the past year. He added the bridge over Trestle Creek will soon need to be replaced at a cost likely to exceed $40,000.

The Crows, though, contended the road makes the area safer, as heavy farm traffic can route onto it instead of using the Eckhart or Trestle Creek roads.

"You’re spending taxpayer money to create a hazard," said Mac Crow.

Brian Crow asked if the improvements to the intersection would ultimately cost more than the bridge replacement.

Storey estimated the cost of widening the intersection would be about $10,000. He added maintenance costs for snow removal and gravel would be eliminated if the road was abandoned.

The Crows also pointed out a couple of infrastructure flaws that could be created by widening the intersection.

The bed of the railroad easement for the former Union Pacific railroad link that connected Thornton and Oakesdale crosses Eckhart Road at the Trestle Creek intersection.

State rail officials are considering restoring the railroad along the route to provide grain shippers on the east side of the county access to the UP line.

Mac Crow also pointed out a Verizon fiber optic cable also runs along the road.

Storey said the intersection work would have little effect on either the cable or the railroad right-of-way.

File Road was abandoned without public comment.

The abandoned portion of File Road, approximately one half mile, is a dirt stretch that runs west from its intersection with State Route 271. The dirt road starts with a steep descent beneath a railroad trestle and runs along farm ground owned by several families. The improved end of File road, which intersects with 271 north of McCoy, will remain on the system.

Two road vacations proposed in an earlier round and still pending, were not mentioned at Monday’s hearing. Campbell Road, near Tekoa, and the Mac Hatley Road, near Ewartsville, were put on the list to be abandoned in February. Both of those proposals were tabled after objections from residents.