Wheeler Road improvement project to move forward
MOSES LAKE — One major road project in an unincorporated area of Grant County has been canceled in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, but others are continuing. Grant County will open bids Aug. 11 on a project to improve a two-mile section of Wheeler Road.
Wheeler Road, also designated as Road 3 Northeast, is a major thoroughfare into Moses Lake, east of town and running east-west.
Bob Bersanti, design and construction engineer for Grant County, said Wednesday that crews will rebuild about two miles of Wheeler Road, from Road Q Northeast to Road S Northeast.
“We’re going to widen it,” Bersanti said, including rebuilding it from the base up.
The two miles will also get a new drainage system and new asphalt.
It’s the second phase of a three-phase project, assistant Grant County Public Works director Sam Dart said in an earlier interview.
The project will cost about $1.2 million, with the county responsible for $248,500. The rest, $951,500, is to come from a federal grant program.
That section of Wheeler is heavily traveled, Bersanti said, and in need of an upgrade. That section will be closed to traffic while construction is underway.
September 14 is the first day of construction, and completion is scheduled for late October. Bersanti said late October is still an acceptable time for paving, “unless we get a crazy early snow.”
A project scheduled for Stratford Road has been pushed back to 2021, however.
Four miles of Stratford Road, between Road 12 Northeast and Road 16 Northeast were scheduled for drainage improvements and chip-sealing this summer. The project is under the direction of Grant County public works, being in an unincorporated area. Chip sealing covers the road surface with a new layer of rock and tar. The estimated cost is $1.7 million, with Grant County paying about $750,000 to $850,000 of the cost.
Counties use revenue from gasoline taxes to pay for road projects, and gas tax revenue declined as a result of the state’s stay-home orders put in place to fight the COVID-19 outbreak. Grant County Commissioner Cindy Carter said in a June 16 commission meeting that the revenue drop led to postponement of the project.
Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at [email protected].