Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Washington State Department of Transportation has completed its railroad engineering and approved the overall West Whitman Street revitalization plan for Palouse. The project includes a 550-foot section of street and railroad tracks with a new drainage system as well as sidewalks, curb, gutter and lighting.
A call for bids will go out next week with a deadline of March 29 on the project, estimated to cost $575,000 to $650,000.
“We are ready to go,” said Munir Daud, Palouse city engineer.
Once construction begins, he estimates 90 days for completion.
Palouse City Council voted Feb. 14 to approve an additional $20,000 expenditure to simultaneously replace water lines on West Whitman.
A total of 415 feet of asbestos cement pipes will be replaced on the north side of the street.
“This is the best chance to do it, since we're ripping the street,” said Daud.
“The fear is if it gets rattled, the (old pipes) are susceptible to being punctured,” said Mayor Michael Echanove.
The money will come from the city's water capital improvements account.
The long-awaited West Whitman Street project extends the 2008 East Whitman Street revitalization work.
In 2015, the Washington state legislature pledged $280,000 for West Whitman in Palouse as part of an overall $16 billion state transportation package. The money will pay for the railroad work to be done at the same time as the street work.
In November 2015, the project was approved for a grant through the Transportation Improvement Board. The $370,500 approval followed a 2014 denial of Palouse's application.
“The mayor has been working for this for four years,” said Daud. “He fights for his town.”
The T.I.B. grant, state transportation money, D.O.T. money and $42,000 from the City of Palouse's arterial streets fund are expected to cover all costs.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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