Most Grant County road work to go ahead as planned
Changes on Valley Road are among the projects.
Cheryl Schweizer/Columbia Basin Herald
EPHRATA — While the COVID-19 outbreak has postponed some planned repairs to Grant County roads, most of the work will continue as scheduled.
Interim Grant County Public Works director Sam Dart said the status of roads scheduled for seal coating is uncertain.
“At this time it is too early to tell what effect (the outbreak) will have on completing all of our seal coating this year,” Dart said. “It all depends on when the road districts can get back to crack filling and complete it. Social distancing guidelines prevent us from performing that type of work.”
Grant County is divided into three road districts, with road maintenance crews assigned to each. A seal coat is a layer of liquid material sprayed on a paved surface to keep it from deteriorating.
Filling cracks, said Grant County Commissioner Cindy Carter, requires two or three people working in close contact, which means it is currently prohibited. But road construction projects have deadlines they have to meet, Carter said, and crews work at acceptable distances, so they’re going ahead.
Major projects are planned for Stratford Road, Road 3 Northeast near Moses Lake and Valley Road at the Moses Lake city limits.
A section of Stratford Road from Road 12 Northeast to Road 16 Northeast will be resurfaced with a mix of rock and tar, a process called chip sealing. Drainage improvements will be part of the project as well. It’s the first phase of a multi-year project, Dart said.
The work on Road 3 Northeast will include paving from Road Q Northeast to Road S Northeast. It’s the second phase of a three-phase project, Dart said. The road will be repaved, with additional earthwork and drainage improvements.
A portion of Valley Road, from the entrance to Cascade Park to Scott Road, will be repaved. The existing pavement will be ground down and replaced. The project includes sidewalk improvements and upgraded Americans with Disabilities Act access.
Road H Northwest near Ephrata will be chip-sealed from Road 7 Northwest to Road 8 Northwest. Similar chip-sealing work is planned on Road H Southwest near Royal City, from Road 12 Southwest to Road H’s intersection with Highway 26.
Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at education@columbiabasinherald.com.