A paved road all the way to Heller Bar has been in the works for a decade or more, and now improvements may actually be visible on the horizon. At the County Commisioners’ meeting today, Asotin County Engineer Joshua Malkin updated commissioners on progress on Snake River Road.
About 2.5 miles of it, south of Asotin, between Buffalo Eddy and Heller Bar is gravel and the plan is to pave it. The overall design includes three phases of work. The first is nearly ¾ of a mile, starting closest to Asotin. Malkin says things behind the scenes are underway, and that part of the project includes widening, grading, some guardrails, plus environmental mitigation. The mitigation includes re-locating trees and shrubs.
Funding for the project is coming from the county as well as state and federal sources. This .71-mile stretch will cost about $2.5 million. The next two phases will come afterward. Phase two is about another ¾ of a mile and phase three is a little more than a mile.
Commissioner Brian Shinn said the road improvements are needed because traffic to Heller Bar is increasing.
Malkin said the design is 90% finished and he expects it to go out to bid next year.
