State parks department outlines timeline for four P-C trail projects

A timeline for funded projects on the Palouse to Cascade Trail has been issued by Washington State Parks and Recreation Department. Two of the projects in Whitman County, the Tekoa Trestle and the Malden-Rosalia Trail segment, are now scheduled to be done in the first half of 2021, according to the summary.

Both projects were funded in the last session of the legislature.

Decking on the 975-foot Tekoa trestle is now targeted to begin in April of 2021 and be finished by June 30. The trestle has been blocked off since the state acquired the Milwaukee right of way. Work on the trestle was funded at $1.7 million.

Work on the Malden-Rosalia segment of the trail has been funded at $1.8 million. The project calls for repairing trestles, installing a trailhead and providing a user-friendly surface.

The first of the four projects will be the Renslow Trestle which crosses I-90 at the top of the Vantage grade. The $1.2 million Renslow project is projected to begin in March of next year and be completed by June 30.

The 680-foot trestle will be decked and railings will be added.

The trail approaches the crossing from Kittitas on the north side of I-90.

The trail now drops down and goes through a tunnel beneath I-90. After crossing beneath the interstate the trail descends down to the Columbia River.

The major project for the trail next year will be restoring the Beverly Bridge across the Columbia River south of I-90. The Beverly trestle measures 3,300 feet and the decking and railing job had been funded for $5 million. Crossing the Columbia has been an obstacle for trail users since the state acquired the Milwaukee right-of-way.

The trail on the east side of the river ascends the Crab Creek grade, starting at Beverly, and eventually reaches Othello before it crosses Adams County and enters Whitman County at Revere.