BRIEFS May 18

Sand Road work to resume

Work on the the Sand Road project is about to be resumed. The county planned to resume work Wednesday, but could wait until Monday because of the rain.

Shut down for winter, the project near Pullman had been expected to resume in March.

Public Works Director Mark Storey told county commissioners Feb. 20 that rock-crushing work was completed Feb. 17, and crews were coordinating to get equipment off the site while following newly-posted load limits on area roads.

Some lighter equipment has been taken away while Public Works awaited cold mornings to potentially approve heavier items to be hauled out.

Last fall, 3.5 miles of the 4-mile, $1.8 million road safety project was finished.

What remains is to build a base and realign the road for the last half-mile.

Due to high rainfall in October, the project was put on hold to wait out the winter.

Once complete, the project work will widen the 24-to-26-foot road to 28-30 feet.

Time changes for dam locks

Monday marked the start of the summer schedule for recreational boaters using navigation locks on the Columbia and Snake rivers, according to Corps navigation planners.

The schedule is the same for all eight dams in Walla Walla and Portland districts.

Upstream lockages will be 9 a.m., 12:01, 3, 6 and 9 p.m. Downstream locks follow 30 minutes later.

This schedule will remain in effect until Sept. 15.

Lockage outside the schedule will be considered for flotillas or other organized events sponsored by yacht clubs, marinas and other groups, provided 24-hour advance arrangements with each location.

All boat owners and operators lock through at their own risk and must comply with the Corps’ safe-lockage policy.

The Corps’ Walla Walla and Portland districts maintain about 350 miles of the federal inland navigation channel from Portland to Lewiston.

Noxious weed spraying approaches

Roadside noxious weed spraying is nearing its start for Whitman County roads this year with a two-week period to file requests for exemptions.

From mid-June to early August, contractor Darry-Air Spraying of Ephrata will spray every mile of gravel and paved county roads with two applications.

Dozens of landowners each year request for stretches of road not to be sprayed – for safety and other reasons, including protecting flowers and other plants.

For each request, the county visits the site and decides whether it is valid.

Requests can be made by contacting Whitman County Public Works at 509-397-6206.