County wants to remove old UP trestle at Oakesdale

Whitman County commissioners Monday, in a workshop meeting, discussed issues with flooding surrounding an old trestle in Oakesdale.

The county and Town of Oakesdale want to be able to remove the trestle, but ownership issues are preventing that right.

“We need ownership and permission prior to removing it,” said Commissioner Art Swannack.

The trestle is currently owned by Union Pacific, which is willing to sell the trestle so that it can be removed. UP offered the trestle to the Town of Oakesdale for $1. The county is now trying to see if it can complete the $1 purchase, as it has the equipment to do the removal, whereas Oakesdale does not.

“It’s a UP trestle on a UP right-of-way that doesn’t have track anymore,” said Swannack.

Swannack said the discussions around this have been with several entities, including Rep. Mary Dye, the Washington State Department of Transportation, Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Department of Ecology and the Palouse and Pine Creek conservation districts.

“We’re trying to have everyone work together,” said Swannack.

The issue came to light when the Town of Oakesdale contacted Rep. Dye inquiring for assistance in removing the trestle. Rep. Dye then got in contact with Whitman County and WSDOT, as well as the other entities.

“Mary Dye has been pretty involved with this from the start,” commented Swannack.

Swannack said the reason for the trestle removal is because of flooding issues in the winter time.

“The ice will build up and underneath that trestle,” he said. “It piles up on the trestle because it’s wooden, and then it melts and floods into Oakesdale.”

Removing the trestle would likely help because the drainage system otherwise is sufficient, said Swannack.

The county will likely be able to complete the $1 transaction, but there are still questions about how the county’s insurance policy would cover the removal.

“Insurance would be required despite the fact that we’re going to take the bridge away,” said Mark Storey, county Public Works director. “It’s a loose end that should be cleared up before we proceed.”

Before proceeding, the county wants to research the insurance matter.

“If we have to buy anything additional other than the $1 for the bridge, I think we should leave it up to the city,” Storey commented.

Bill Tensfeld, Emergency Management director, said the Department of Transportation has been “all over” him several times about the issue, and he would like to see the removal completed as quickly as possible. All present at the workshop meeting were in agreement that the county could finish the work in the fastest time frame as it has the resources to be able to do so.

The trestle is located south of the Highway 27 bridge in Oakesdale. Swannack said the trestle removal needs to take place prior to mid-October because stream permitting would expire at that time. He said permitting is another issue that needs to be researched and solved before the county can proceed.