City of Ritzville receives state transportation grants totaling $978K

The Ritzville City Council unanimously approved two grant agreements for projects from the Washington State Transportation Improvement Board (TIB) at its Dec. 17 council meeting, totaling almost $1 million.

The two agreements total $978,643 in grant funds that the city will receive from the state for two transportation projects it had requested to receive funding. The projects were listed on the city’s Six Year Transportation Improvement Plan, which qualify them for TIB funding.

One of the projects that was chosen to receive funding is the Weber Road and Galbreath Way Project, from Jackson Street to Fairway Avenue (Weber Road) and from the Best Western Bronco Inn to Weber Road (Galbreath Way). The project is set to receive $771,258 in TIB funds.

Councilmember Scott Yaeger, the council’s point-person for construction and transportation issues, said that the project will affect traffic and business on the roads inside of the project’s zone. Once cement-treated base has been laid down on the affected roads, he said it will take two or three days until semi-trucks can access those roads. It will take about one day for regular traffic to access the roads.

Yaeger said that there will probably be a day during the project where no traffic can access the roads. He added that the city will need to work with businesses being affected to try and agree upon a day that will impact them the least, and hopefully help the businesses understand “that they’re going to have a nice road after it gets done.”

Businesses that will be affected by the project include: McDonald’s, Bob’s Chevron, Subway, Circle K, Starbucks, Taco Del Mar, The Grass Station and Best Western Bronco Inn.

“No time of the year is going to be good [on Galbreath Way],” said Yaeger. “But construction’s not supposed to happen until 2021, so we have a little bit of time.”

The other city project that is being awarded TIB funds is the Seal Coat Project, which will cover multiple locations around the city. That project was awarded $207,385 in funds.

The city also requested funding for the 1st Avenue, Division Street to Palouse Street Project, but it was not selected to receive funding.

TIB grant funds come from revenue generated by the Motor Vehicle Fuel Tax. Three cents of the statewide gas tax are distributed to cities and counties via TIB grant funding to fund transportation projects. In 2019, cities and counties across the state requested $261 million in TIB funding, with $100.3 million ultimately being awarded.