PASCO -- Franklin County is one step closer to moving Road 170 away from the blanket of rubble left from the 2006 landslide.
U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., announced Wednesday that a $1.9 million grant for the project was included in the 2010 Consolidated Appropriations Act.
The final version of the bill was created in a conference committee between the Senate and the House.
"That's great news, but it's still not home yet," said Tim Fife, Franklin County engineer and public works director.
The county won't receive the money until after the bill passes the Legislature and is signed into law by President Obama, he said.
A 2006 landslide covered about 1,400 feet of Road 170. The bluff along part of the road was determined to be unstable and likely to slide again.
The project moves Road 170 about a mile away, just past Greenar Road, Fife said. Road 170 will reconnect at Sagehill Road.
One mile of the new part of the road was completed in November using stimulus money, Fife said. Two miles are left.
Franklin County Commissioner Rick Miller said he thinks the Road 170 project is the county's top priority in terms of transportation projects. The federal grant will allow the county to finally finish it.
County residents in the Basin City area will be able to use Road 170 to commute to the Tri-Cities instead of having to take detours, Miller said.
The $1.9 million is close to the $2 million the county had requested, Fife said. However, the county will still need to find local money for the grant to be usable.
Those matching dollars could come from the state. However, the expected $800,000 state grant was delayed until 2012 because of state funding shortages, he said.
That could change. County engineers in the region are meeting Friday to discuss the state Rural Arterial Program, where the $800,000 is expected to come from, Fife said.
If that grant doesn't materialize, the county could pay the matching part and get reimbursed by the state in 2012, or borrow money, Fife said. It would be up to the board of commissioners.
-- Kristi Pihl: 509-582-1512; kpihl@tricityherald.com
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