Bridge project resumes after ash site preservation

Whitman County Public Works crews last week installed a fish passage channel after resuming work on a bridge project on Steptoe Canyon Road. The project had been stopped after ash from a possible indigenous campfire was discovered at the site.

The ash was evaluated by the Nez Perce Tribe and Army Corps of Engineers, and the county received approval to bury it and proceed with the bridge project.

“Don’t touch it, don’t remove it,” Public Works Director Mark Storey said as he explained the status of the ash.

It will be covered with geotextile fabric, followed by large rocks at the site south of...