County Commissioners approve road safety bid

Whitman County commissioners Dec. 19 approved a $680,015 bid from Frank Gurney, Inc. of Spokane Valley for the 2017 countywide road safety projects.

The approval came with a contingency – on receipt of a letter from the state's Department of Labor and Industries' (L&I) Employment Security Department. The letter is required because the work will be paid for with federal money.

“We have no reason to believe Gurney has any issue with L&I or Employment Security,” County Public Works Director Mark Storey said.

A downed website had held up the letter.

The safety project list includes guardrails on a stretch of Endicott-St. John Road and signs on 30 other county roads. Signs will include chevrons – square yellow signs with black pointers – and other curve warnings. Work is planned for early next year.

Funding comes from a $750,000 grant from the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (2015).