Millrace Grade Improvement Project addresses safety, paves way for future projects

WAITSBURG-The Millrace Grade Improvement Project is one of the projects at the top of the City of Waitsburg's 2021 to-do list.

The city initially slated the grade improvement project to break ground in 2020, but, it was pushed back after the area experienced extreme flooding in February, followed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Waitsburg's City Administrator Randy Hinchliffe said that a new start date has not yet been determined, though he hopes for mid to late summer.

The project will focus on making Millrace Road, which connects into Main Street at the north end of Waitsburg, safer for all traffic, adding sidewalks for pedestrians, and providing an alternate traffic route for future road projects.

One of the significant factors behind the need for improvements is harvest and farm traffic.

"Anyone who has ever driven that stretch will notice that there is a steep slope to one side, with no guard rail," Hinchliffe said. "We will start with safety improvements. The project is going to add a guard rail, we're going to widen the road, and flatten the entrance and exit approaches, so it's not such a bad jump."

Ask any wheat truck driver or McGregor Co. service tech about driving large trucks over the hill and railroad crossing, and you are likely to get something along the lines of 'we hold our breath.' The narrow road makes it hard for larger vehicles to see and navigate around oncoming traffic. Drivers of big rigs have all experienced the uncomfortable angles needed to stay upright due to the road's steep grade.

Hinchliffe said there would be improvements to the railroad crossing at the base of the steepest hill on Millrace Road, including new and better signage. A sidewalk will also be installed along the south side of the road and looping back to Main Street. This project will also create an area for the future Touchet Valley Trail trailhead.

Hinchliffe said that the Millrace project is the final leg of the Main Street corridor project. He said that repairs along Main Street were completed in 2008-09 and the North Main Street bridge replacement in 2017 have led up to the Millrace Grade Improvement Project.

In recent years, the city has assumed responsibility for Rankin Park which runs along the Touchet River from the Main Street bridge to the historic Waits Mill site.

The mill burned down in 2009 and Hinchliffe said a hole left from the loss was filled with rubble from the W 7th Street Project in 2013. Acquiring the park and filling in the hole left by the former mill ties directly into the Millrace Grade Improvement project, paving the way for sidewalks and the future Touchet Valley Trail trailhead.

The City of Waitsburg is financially responsible for the design and engineering portion of the Millrace Grade Project, which is roughly 13.5% of the total cost. The remaining costs will be covered through grants from the U.S Department of Transportation and Washington State Department of Transportation. Hinchliffe estimated that the city would be responsible for roughly $200,000.00 by the end of the project. The civil engineering firm Anderson Perry and Associates of Walla Walla provides engineering and design services for the project.

"Engineering has been more than we anticipated when we first started," Hinchliffe said. "When we first thought about the project, we thought that, within the existing right of way, we could accomplish everything."

At the Waitsburg City Council meeting in January, Hinchliffe presented the council with right of way procedure documents since it was learned that the city must acquire right of way on a small piece of property connected with the project. The Port of Columbia owns the property in question, and Hinchliffe anticipates an interagency transfer for the rights.

Once the project is complete, it would offer a safe alternate route for eastbound traffic, making replacement or repair of the Preston Avenue bridge more realistic.

"In order to (repair the bridge), we need a viable bypass route," Hinchliffe said. "Once this section of road is finished, it will complete the corridor. Traffic could then be rerouted up Garden Street, to Millrace, and back to Main."

Preston Avenue's bridge is nearly one-hundred years old and shows signs of stress, including cracks in the concrete. There was notable damage caused by large debris carried downstream during the flood event last February. Hinchliffe said the bridge is considered structurally sound by DOT standards; however, he has concerns over the bridge's narrow pedestrian walkways and whether its design can accommodate today's traffic loads.

Hinchliffe noted that the new bridge on Main Street played a role in lessening damage from the 2020 flood as it allows more water and debris to pass through compared to the old bridge. He said he was confident that flooding in Waitsburg, including downtown, would have been a different story had the bridge not been replaced.

As the city completes final preparation for the Millrace Grade project, it looks forward to the completed project providing the improved infrastructure needed to address long-overdue safety concerns, greater outdoor recreation access, and replacing the Preston Avenue bridge.