Colton to build new road to divert traffic from school

The Colton town council is considering a new road that would be built to lessen the number of cars that drive past the school.

A new road may soon be built in Colton.

The town council is considering creating a paved road from Highway 195 south to Rimrock Road to divert farming traffic away from the Colton school and open up land for commercial use.

The Colton council is a month away from the deadline to apply for a state grant to fund the street which would be west of the Colton School.

Estimated cost is approximately $500,000.

The site for the proposed road is currently a wheat field and a narrow dead-end driveway. The land is owned by the Colton School District and the Rick Heitstuman family.

The town, school district, and Heitstumans are discussing a quit claim deed that would give the city the right of way for the road.

Town Mayor Jerry Weber told the Gazette he would like to have the paperwork finished before the town submits its grant application.

Colton plans to apply to the state Transportation Improvement Board for the grant. The deadline for the grant is the end of August and grant awards are announced in November.

Colton council Monday night discussed the status of the quit claim negotiations.

The town has contracted Munir Daud & Associates of Pullman for design work on the proposal.

Daud said he has already surveyed the land and will apply for the TIB grant.

The town proposes to name the new segment of road Rimrock Road.

Rimrock Road is a major route to about a dozen farms southwest of Colton. It is also a popular alternative route to reach the Snake River and some prime hunting areas.

Every year, hundreds of farming equipment vehicles must drive directly past the Colton school to reach the farm land from Highway 195.

Weber said heavy machinery moving so close to the Colton students is a problem.

“The typical farming traffic is going through there…Right there on that corner is the playground,” Weber said.

Colton has limited areas in a commercial zone. The parcel of land which the new road will cross is zoned as commercial.

Weber said the town council would like to take advantage of that by opening up the land for use. The paved road, which will run about a block, will have sidewalks, sewer drains and possibly water and sewer lines.

“I would like to get some economic development going on in Colton and we need the site to be able to do that,” Weber said.

Colton superintendent Nate Smith was not available for comment. A message left with Rick Heitstuman was not returned before press time.

The town of Colton is applying for three TIB grants total. The two other applications are for the resurfacing of several side streets and to replace some sidewalks.