The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

WAITSBURG - Waitsburg's City Council approved a Main Street Bridge Feasibility Study by the Army Corp of Engineers at their April 16 Council meeting. It is hoped that the study will eventually result in funds to help replace the Main Street Bridge, which is a flood hazard.

City Clerk Randy Hinchliffe says the City has been researching ways to replace the bridge for "a very long time." The State won't help with funding because of the classification and project backlogs. The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Flood Risk Management Program may provide the solution.

The program provides a 65/35 cost split with local governments, with the Corps covering 65% of eligible projects. According to Hinchliffe, the arch underneath the Main Street Bridge creates a major choke point in the river and poses a risk to the levee. He said the bridge was the main cause of flooding in the north end of town during the 1996 flood.

The Council unanimously approved a request for the USACE to perform a feasibility study to determine if the bridge replacement would be an eligible project under the Flood Risk Management Program. The federal government will cover the first $100,000 of the study, with costs over that being split 50/50 with the City.

The Council also approved a Rural Surface Transportation (STP) Grant that will allow for new sidewalks on E. 7th Street - from Roy Leid Street to Buttercup Street and up to E. 8th Street. Because E. 7th Street is a federally classified transportation route, the City was able to compete with Walla Walla for Department of Transportation funds available for eligible projects. "There should be no cost to the City for the new sidewalks," said Hinchliffe.