Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Funding for the Hume Road reconstruction project is set after the county received a $254,000 grant last week to begin work on improving three miles of road south from Oakesdale at the Highway 27 intersection.
The grant comes from the Washington Rural Arterial Program – funded by the state gas tax – which comes with a guarantee that the rest of the money will be granted in the next biennium. The full project is estimated to cost $2.4 million.
“The funding will be there,” said Dean Cornelison, assistant county engineer.
Construction is estimated to happen in 2021 or 2022.
In 2013, the county overlayed nine miles of Hume Road starting at Highway 195.
“Reconstruction and brought up to current design standards,” said Cornelison.
Problems on the much-patched road now include failing subgrade, a clear zone hazard with drainage on the road’s east side and more. The clear zone hazard refers to the drainage being too steep for a motorist to safely drive off the road to avoid an obstacle.
To solve this, ground will be leveled or guardrail installed.
The work will be similar to the county’s recent reconstruction of Colfax Airport Road and the ongoing Almota Road project.
Much of the initial $254,000 grant for Hume Road will go to planning and surveying.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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