Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
A plan in Farmington to improve selected city roads has been scaled back after an assessment from the Whitman County Roads Department.
Mayor James Woomack requested a visit by the department in the interest of getting some roads graded. On site in Farmington in early May, Jeff Stehr, Whitman County Public Works District One Road Superintendent, told Woomack that grading would just do more damage.
He said other work would be required first.
Stehr deemed that the streets have become too narrow over time with grasses growing along the edges.
Another factor noted was the presence of old dust oil on several streets which hardens over time.
“It almost looks like pavement,” said Stehr. “And you can’t grade that. It’s hard as a rock and you need gravel over the top of the imperfections.”
Unless new gravel is applied, the dust oil can come up in chunks in front of a road grader’s blade.
“We don’t want to do work for any city that’s not going to be done correctly,” Stehr said.
In turn, Woomack has ordered 40 yards of gravel from the county to start working on potholes.
“There’s a point you’ve got to start,” Woomack said. “We require a lot of roadwork to get them back to where they need to be.”
The gravel will be paid for from Farmington’s general fund, which Woomack set aside $7,000 for the intended grading.
The roads in question are all gravel and dirt within the city limits.
In the many years since they were last graveled, weeds and grass have grown in place.
“The grass has kind of taken over,” said Woomack, suggesting that the roads were last graveled sometime after Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980.
“That’s what I understand,” he said.
Grading will eventually be done, after the roads are restored to the right width and smoothness. Grading is when a crown is put in the center of a roadway for draining purposes.
“Water is gravel’s worst enemy,” said Stehr.
Originally, Woomack intended to have grading and graveling work done on six stretches of road in Farmington including Lincoln Street from Garfield-Farmington Road to First Street, on Adams from First Street to Third, on Main Street from Third to Fifth, on Pine from Second to Third, on Fifth from Washington to Pine and on Second Street from Church to Main.
Now that the grading project has been shelved for the time being, work on the potholes will get underway. Woomack spent $550 on the gravel which town volunteers will use to fill potholes on the streets listed above.
The work is expected to be done this summer.
“That’s what I hope,” said Woomack, noting that the volunteers have their own work to tend to as well.
Overall, with the assessment of the road situation, Woomack will now convene with the city council to discuss the future.
“You just have to break it into a lot of small pieces and hope you can get it all done,” Woomack said.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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