Airport Road project slates three week closure

Colfax Airport Road will be closed to thru traffic for three weeks starting Monday to let construction crews replace two 15-foot culverts as part of Whitman County’s rebuild of the road.

Traffic through the weekend will still be limited to a construction zone speed limit of 35 miles per hour.

Public Works Director Mark Storey said the county is closing the road to allow workers from M.A. DeAtley of Clarkston, contractor on the rebuild, to replace a twin-culvert bridge that spans Rebel Flat Creek just east of the Duncan Springs Road intersection.

Access to the airport will only be possible from the east side of the road off the Almota Road. McGregor Co.’s home office and the county road shop will be accessible from the west via Highway 26.

Storey said the state Department of Fish and Wildlife has given the county permission until Nov. 1 to allow crews to work in Rebel Flat Creek. State regulations require work be done when the watershed is at low flow so construction does not hamper fish passage.

Airport Road is a popular bypass for WSU traffic from Highway 26 at the fairground intersection to S. Main at Colfax. The shutdown will not affect traffic for the WSU football game Saturday at Martin Stadium against the University of California. The Cougars have a bye on Oct. 20 before traveling to Stanford and Utah the following two weekends. The road should be re-opened by the Cougars next home game, Nov. 10, against the University of California at Los Angeles.

DeAtley began working on Airport Road late last month. The Clarkston firm won the contract with a bid of $2,599,431.

Deputy Vince Waltz has set up a speed emphasis patrol on Airport Road during construction, citing all drivers he has caught exceeding the reduced speed limit in the construction zone.

The construction agenda for the road calls for grading and base gravel work with the final paving to be applied next spring. Storey said that approach allows for compaction of the road surface over the winter months. The same approach has been used for segments of the Almota Road which have been upgraded by the county over the past eight years.

One of the big safety improvements on the roadway will be a reduction of the shoulder grades. The current sharp shoulder grades have caused many normal slideoff accidents to instead result in rollovers, particularly on the east end of the road.