The saga ofwhen the State Route 26 project east of Othello will start continues. A spokesperson for the Washington State Department of Transportation told CougCenter today the road will remain open for this weekend’s game against the San Jose State Spartans and likely won’t close before next weekend.
A project to replace a bridge over railroad tracks near the interchange with US Highway 395 had been slated to begin at the beginning of the month after originally being scheduled for next year. The DOT said another check of the bridge this summer indicated the span would not be safe enough to cross, requiring more immediate repair. The spokesperson tells CougCenter that Burlington Northern Santa Fe, who owns the tracks the bridge runs over, has still not approved the project, meaning the road will be open this weekend.
The road will also most likely be open for next weekend’s game against the Eastern Washington Eagles. An exact timeline for the start of the project still hasn’t been released but an update to the project website says to expect it to start later in September. The project should take about six weeks to finish once it begins, requiring a detour for anyone heading to Pullman from the west side of the state.
We’ll keep you updated on when the DOT schedules the project start.