Rail bridge near Oakesdale purchased for demolition

Garth Meyer, Gazette Reporter | Sep 14, 20170

Whitman County Commissioners Sept. 5 approved the purchase of a low, wooden rail bridge near Oakesdale with intent to tear it down. The span, owned by Union-Pacific, will be bought for one dollar, pending approval by state agencies, and taken out due to a high-water hazard.

After ice against the bridge caused flooding last winter, a meeting was held in Spokane in February at which representatives of the state Department of Transportation, Department of Ecology, Fish and Wildlife, Town of Oakesdale, Whitman County and Palouse Conservation District discussed the matter, among others.

Hydraulic modeling on the stretch of McCoy Creek shows that if the bridge was removed, the water flood level would drop by 1.34 feet in the 2,000 feet of McCoy Creek leading up to the bridge.

The trestle is located on the west side of Highway 27 south of the Hume Road intersection. Flooding in the area, which includes Oakesdale waste water treatment plant on the other side of Highway 27, is common during high runoff.

Wood from the bridge is not believed to be salvageable.

Whether the support posts would be removed is yet to be decided. If not, they would be cut off at ground level.

The proposed project has been evaluated by Whitman County Planner Alan Thomson and the planning commission, to check for State Environmental Policy Act requirements.

It will now need to be approved by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Department of Ecology.

Removal of the 1940s-50s bridge would happen this fall, with county Public Works crews doing the job. Road funds would not be used because it is not on a county road and does not affect one.

“It’s not politically correct to use an Ohio blue-tip,” Commissioner Dean Kinzer joked.

Blue tip refers to matches, a once-upon-a-time option for taking out a bridge.

The rail right-of-way runs adjacent to Highway 27.