Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
The project to replace a culvert with a new bridge on Steptoe Canyon Road south of Colton has been stopped while the Whitman County Public Works Department awaits clearance from archaeologists from the Nez Perce Tribe and Palouse Conservation District.
A county crew prepared to take out the culvert July 27 when archaeologists discovered ash which may mark a fire from indigenous people to the area.
The development put a halt on the project until archaeologists submit their report to the Washington Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, Army Corps of Engineers and the Nez Perce Tribe.
“We’re just in a little bit of a holding pattern,” said Lovina Englund, agriculture resources coordinator for the Palouse Conservation District. “We’re hoping to be able to resume work, potentially, as soon as possible.”
The stop was not unusual for a project like this.
“When you’re down next to the Snake River, the likelihood of finding things goes way up,” said Mark Storey, Whitman County Public Works director.
Girders were set to be delivered for the new bridge in late August.
“Right now, that is kind of a big maybe,” Storey said.
Representatives from Public Works, the Palouse Conservation District and Washington State Department of Fish & Wildlife met at the site Aug. 2 to discuss next steps.
Public Works installed a temporary bridge detour two weeks ago to prepare to build the new 30-foot, pre-stressed, reinforced concrete bridge which will replace a raised culvert to allow for better fish passage.
“We’re going from a six-foot diameter pipe to a 30-foot bridge,” said Storey.
The bridge leads to the Snake River 10 miles west of Clarkston. The detour is not yet in use. Once started, construction on the bridge is expected to take four to five weeks.
Washington State Salmon Recovery Board will fund the $250,000 project along with manpower and equipment from Whitman County valued at $50,000.
“Right now the fish can’t get beyond the culvert,” said Englund.
The metal-corrugated tube that makes up the culvert now is perched above the stream channel, not allowing fish to get upstream of the county road to spawn.
“It’s just inaccessible habitat,” said Englund.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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