County bags $750k for roads

Whitman County has received a $750,000 grant of federal funds for safety improvements on its road system.

Public Works Director Mark Storey announced receipt of the funding Monday at the county commissioners’ session.

About $370,000 will be used on major projects, while the remainder will fund replacement of guard rails and removal of trees along road sides.

The safety projects will include a turn lane from the Pullman Airport Road onto O’Donnel Road east of the airport. Storey said the airport road is being used more heavily, and residents of O’Donnel Road have complained that turning left onto their road has become hazardous.

Another project will be improvements to the intersection of the Wawawai Road and the Wawawai-Pullman Road at the top of the grade. Storey said the shoulders will be widened and sign improvements will be made at the junction.

The federal money is handed out to local agencies by officials in the State Department of Transportation. The funding is intended to improve rural two-lane roads. Storey said accidents on rural roads lead to more deaths per capita than on urban roadways.