Heat delays county road work

The dangerous wildfire season, which sidelined Spokane County road crews in May, and continued dry conditions means it’s unlikely any maintenance work will be done on unpaved roads in the foreseeable future.

“It’ll be spring before we can get caught up,” said Rocky Ghering, a road maintenance specialist who drives one of the county’s 35 gravel grading rigs.

The Spokane County Roads Department is taking six to eight calls a day from residents upset about the condition of the county’s 1,100 miles of unpaved roads, said Bob Keneally, road maintenance and operations supervisor.

“We handle all the phone calls, and we usually call them right back,” he said.

But road employees have had to tell most homeowners they’re out of luck this summer. There’s been a severe lack of the soaking rains needed to wet the gravel so it can be smoothed and to help prevent a metal grader from sparking a fire along the road shoulder. Keneally said a street-sweeping truck already inadvertently touched off a fire that burned some grass along one road before it was quickly extinguished.

Steve Bartel, the county’s director of risk management, said he’s working with Keneally and local fire districts to allow road crews to put out spot fires on their own, without assistance from fire agencies already taxed by this year’s extreme fire activity.

“If we’re out on the roads and something starts, we’d like to be able to help it from spreading,” Bartel said.

Road crews are also hesitant to bring in water trucks for paving efforts in the extreme conditions, citing high costs and conservation efforts underway for the aquifer and Spokane River.

“It’d be very, very difficult to pave this road with water trucks,” Keneally said at a news conference Wednesday morning, pointing to the gravel-paved Jacobs Road beneath his feet, north of East Valley High School.

Homeowners along gravel roads can request contractors to come and treat streets with oil in the spring, Keneally said. Homeowners must pay private contractors for the work, which requires permits from the county. Treating the road is a preventive measure, which keeps the gravel in better shape during the summer and avoids the “washboard” feel of untreated roads that occurs when county crews can’t grade them due to droughtlike conditions.

Those interested in obtaining a permit can contact the roads department at (509) 477-3600. Keneally said the best time to call and schedule maintenance is in late winter.