Long term work on Brooks Road

MEDICAL LAKE - Brooks Road will be closed for repairs starting June 8 and it will remain closed through September, 2023, according to Eric Jenkin, Project Manager.

Brooks Road will have a hard closure at the railroad tracks just north of Medical Lake City limits in order to replace the drainage structure on the north side of the tracks.

This means that no through-traffic of any kind will be allowed on the road for the duration of the project, impacting all local traffic or anyone traveling to neighboring Lincoln County.

According to the project manager, anyone wanting to travel out to Reardan or Davenport will need to take Espanola to Hwy 2, and the same for anyone traveling from Lincoln County.

Early on in the design process, the possibility of extending the structure to support the widened roadway was explored, but due to the condition of the existing structure, replacement became the only option, Jenkin said.

It is not possible to replace the concrete structure and maintain traffic through this section of road, to try and do so would be unsafe for the traveling public and the workers, therefore it is necessary to close the road to all traffic at this location.

We realize that a total closure is a huge inconvenience for the residents along Brooks Road, however there is just no way to complete the necessary work and keep the road open to traffic.

If all goes according to plan the total closure should only last about 6 weeks, according to a recent press release.

"Even after the buried structure is installed, there will continue to be times when the road will become impassable due the work going on, however those instances should only be short durations during the soil stabilization process and paving of the roadway," Jenkin said.  

"Our goal is try for minimal disruption to the public during our projects, unfortunately improving the road will cause short term inconveniences for the area residents," Jenkin said.

Regarding traffic bypasses to avoid the construction on Brooks Road, Jenkin said that Hallett is an unmaintained road that he would not recommend using it since it is just a dirt road without any real gravel surface and has ruts up to 1 foot deep. 

"If I were a resident out there I would probably take Thorpe over to Ritchey and go into Medical Lake that way, the roads are gravel and a little rough but overall are in pretty good shape," Jenkin said. 

The official detour is to use Espanola from Hwy 2 to Medical Lake because it is the only fully Paved route, according to Jenkin.