County has funds for road repair; permits next

Wahkiakum County has received funding to help repair and improve Family Camp Road, which was closed when culverts washed out in last November’s storms.

The state Salmon Recovery Funding Board has awarded a $382,480 grant to the county, which will be responsible for the remaining $163,920 of the estimated project cost.

County Public Works Director Pete Ringen said the county has wanted to replace the culverts for several years, and design work was already in progress.

Ringen hopes the project can be built this summer, or next summer at the latest. Timing will depend on how quickly state and federal permitting agencies act on applications.

“We’re doing everything humanly possible to make this project happen quickly,” he said.

The project calls for a new bridge to replace twin culverts. The culverts had a drop at the outlets, making them a barrier to fish that might want to spawn upstream. The new design would increase spawning and rearing habitat by 98 percent and add 2.8 miles of fish habitat to Duck Creek, the Salmon Recovery Board said.

The board of commissioners on Tuesday also approved execution of a funding agreement with the Washington State Department of Transportation for repair of the Elochoman Valley Road at milepost 11.5.

A slide took out the road last month, and state funds are available for stabilizing the uphill slope, Ringen said.

The total cost of the project would be $57,000; of that, $50,200 would be federal funding, and $6,800 would be county funds.