Tekoa Catholic Cemetery Road work approved

Whitman County commissioners approved an estimated $18,000 of work Monday to counter runoff into Hangman Creek from Catholic Cemetery Road, three miles past Tekoa in the far northeast corner of the county.

A county crew will put crushed rock down on a quarter-mile stretch and dig a ditch along each side of the dirt road in order to improve drainage and impede runoff which adds silt to the creek.

The work aims to reduce silt and turbidity in Hangman Creek as the Washington State Department of Ecology has been working to improve water quality in the Spokane River.

“It's a very small improvement to a very small portion of the drainage,” said Mark Storey, Whitman County Public Works director.

The two-week project is expected to happen in late August or September.

Storey also told commissioners he and his staff are considering the addition of a gate across the road for when it closes each year, from Nov. 15 to March 15.

The gate would discourage drivers from disobeying the signs on a road where vehicles often get stuck.

“People drive past the sign all the time,” Storey said, noting the problem seems worse with the proliferation of GPS devices in cars.