Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
ROSALIA — Washington State Parks will open bids Jan. 21 for a project to repair the historic train trestle here after incidents in recent years of small pieces of concrete falling to the Old State Highway 271-Rosalia Road below.
The project will include removal of loose concrete, debris containment and temporary sediment and erosion controls, state officials said.
Concrete pieces from a half-inch to two inches have been seen on the road.
The 1915 trestle, a former railroad bridge owned by State Parks as part of the Palouse-to-Cascades Trail (formerly John Wayne Trail), was the subject of a 2017 letter sent to them by Whitman County Public Works director Mark Storey.
Phone calls followed between the two parties.
Later, at the annual Battle Days celebration, county Commissioner Art Swannack mentioned trestle issues to state Rep. Joe Schmick, R-Colfax.
Schmick, in turn, put in a state legislative request for more information, noting that re-bar was showing on a trestle arch.
State Parks later issued a report which led to the repair project.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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