Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Funding has been secured for the Almota Road reconstruction project's phase three. The $3.5 million grant from the state's Rural Arterial Program will fund a two-mile stretch beginning one half-mile north of the intersection of Sommers Road and run south up Henning Hill to one half-mile north of Klaus Road intersection. Phase three, set for 2019, will be the last of four stages of the Almota Road rebuild which began in 2006.
Phase four, which received funding before phase three, was set for this summer but was later pushed back to next year after a delay caused by design difficulties and not-yet-complete right-of-way acquisitions.
Preliminary discussions have been had with landowners along the stretch of road, with formal agreements next to come.
As with phase one and two, the phase three work is to be a complete reconstruction to current design and safety standards.
The total map of the 11-mile, $16 million Almota Road reconstruction project is as follows: Phase I (2006) went from the Colfax city limits south two miles to Duncan Springs Road. Phase II (2009-10) went from Duncan Springs Road three miles south to one half-mile north of Sommers Road. Phase III will continue two miles to Klaus Road. Phase IV will extend 3.5 miles to Highway 194.
With funding now for Phase III and this year's delay of Phase IV, the projects are now set to go back-to-back in 2018 and 2019.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
Reader Comments(0)