Ritzville Council approves TIB project applications

A new logo, seal and ordinances were not the only orders of business at the Aug. 15 Ritzville City Council meeting.

During the meeting, council approved the Washington State Transportation Improvement Board (TIB) grant applications for road improvement projects.

Public Works Director Larry Swift reviewed the projects on the grant applications. These projects are not related to the emergency road repair projects from the winter weather storms.

Two of the project applications were submitted to the TIB 2017 Small City Arterial Program.

According to the TIB website, to qualify for grant funding from the Small City Arterial Program, a TIB classified arterial must either be a logical extension of a county arterial or state highway into city limits, connect local traffic generator areas like schools or recreational areas, or act as a bypass or truck route to relieve the central area.

One project consists of reconstructing .13 mile segment of First Avenue, from Jackson Street to Clark Street. The other project is reconstructing a .30 mile portion of Weber Road and Galbreath Way, from Jackson Street to Fairway Avenue. The cost for both reconstruction projects is over $1.34 million.

The TIB funding request is over $1.27 million and the city would pay $66,997 in matching funds. The city’s matching for TIB grants is 5 percent.

The other five projects were submitted to the Small City Preservation Program. The program provides funding for projects relating to chip seal or overlay of existing pavement and sidewalk maintenance in incorporated cities with a population of less than 5,000.

Two overlay projects on First Avenue were submitted to TIB.

One overlay is for the section from Division Street to Palouse Street, which is a project the city has submitted for grant funding in the past. The work will consist of grinding existing pavement, then laying three inches of pavement and another inch of overlay.

The other is the section from Clark Street to Weber Avenue and the work would be a full-depth reclamation.

The estimated cost for both projects is $770,360. The TIB funding request for those projects is $731,800 and the city would pay a $38,560 match.

The three remaining projects are chip seals for sections of Main Avenue, from Palouse Street to Jackson Street; Sixth Avenue from Division to Chelan Street and Chelan from First to Sixth.

The estimated cost for all of the projects is $304,825. The city would pay $194,584 of the cost in TIB funds and pay a $10,241 match.

The project applications were submitted to TIB. The TIB projects are selected in late November. The city will not receive notification until around December or January.