County places weight restrictions

COLFAX — During the regular Whitman County Commissioners meeting on Monday, Jan. 22, Public Works Director Mark Storey updated the commissioners on weight restrictions for roads and discussed some of the impacts of the recent snow with the Gazette in an interview on Tuesday, Jan. 23.

During the Monday meeting, Storey told commissioners that weight restrictions were being put up as they spoke. “We have a sign putting up weight restrictions,” Storey said.

Storey told the Gazette that the closures are for heavy loads and trucks, and nothing is allowed on the roads that weigh approximately 19,000 pounds.

Storey said when the roads freeze, they freeze from the top down and thaw out from the top down. “The top of the road is now not frozen, so it destroys the road itself,” Storey said, adding that is why they don’t let heavy trucks go over them when they start breaking up in the spring.

In an interview with the Gazette, Storey said the only road they had to close because of winter weather conditions was Golf Course Road in Tekoa on Monday night, Jan. 22, due to flooding from snow melt.

Storey said that the road was reopened on Tuesday, Jan. 23. “We put up barricades and let no one go over for about two hours because the water was going over the road,” Storey said, noting that weight restrictions require that trucks do not drive on the roads.

Storey said that as far as snow weather conditions in the county, everything has gone fine. “We didn’t really have any problems during snow plowing,” Storey said, noting that certain parts of the county did have drifting.

Areas that experienced the most drifting were south of Pullman, Storey said, noting that it was near the Colton area they had to send plows to open the road for some gravel roads.

Storey said that since winter has paused, it is giving the Public Worker employees time to go back and fix all the broken equipment. “I don’t usually get excited until around March,” Storey said, noting that they are all just paying attention to equipment so they’ll be ready for snow if it hits again.