Roads

Reader dislikes recent road work

The county did a dastardly deed this winter and spring.

There were three dump trucks pulling long trailers hauling dirt and dumping it along both edges of the Frontage roads along both sides of I-90, between Dodson and Adams roads.

All winter they worked. They started on the south Frontage Road at Dodson. They worked west. They only dumped the dirt where the little arrows somebody sprayed on the road indicated. They graded it over the edge of the road into the ditch. They had a road grader, big scoop loader and street sweeper. The street sweeper didn’t seem too effective, as when it rained the frontage roads turned to mud.

After they finished, they started all over again. This time they dumped more dirt the full length of both sides of each frontage road. They graded this dirt into the ditches, rounding the shoulders and dressing up the ditch banks. Stirring up Mt. St. Helens again.

Then they did another dastardly deed. A couple of years ago the county went through these ditches, cleaning out the culverts and extending them out a couple of feet. Now we have had enough sand storms in this area to hide these extensions.

When these people graded this dirt, they ripped off the ends of several of these culverts.

In this dirt was rocks. Football size on up to some I won’t try to move. These rocks were shoved into the fields along the roads.

Stray rocks like these are not normal out here in the Black Sands area. I just hope the farmers discover them before they cultivate over them.

The edge of the roads where they graded are starting to break up and crumble now. Every time it rains more of the dirt washes down into the ditch, filling them up.

Ray Vessey

Ephrata