Thurston County has received a $4.5 million construction loan from the Washington State Public Works Board to replace the Green Cove Creek Culvert at Country Club Rd NW in west Olympia.
Public Works Assistant Director Karen Weiss said the loan, which has a 20-year term and 1.39% interest rate, will be used to construct a 180-ft two-lane road bridge over Green Cove Creek to replace a damaged culvert.
Country Club Rd NW was built in the 1970s. "The result is a 5-foot-wide culvert covered by 50 feet of rocks and soil with a road and utilities on top,” according to the Thurston County Public Works (TCPW) project website. “A project to remove the barrier has been in the planning process for several years.”
According to Thurston County Public Works (TCPW), a foot of the culvert collapsed in the fall of 2021 and had to have emergency repairs to keep the creek from being blocked off. While crews were working on the emergency repairs, they reported that it continued to collapse.
The culvert was also designed for the water to move too fast for spawning salmon to swim upstream to access spawning grounds, the TCPW outlined. The project to fix the road had to meet the requirements of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
"This loan provides a favorable funding mechanism," Weiss said during the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) meeting on Tuesday, March 21.
With the loan now approved, the public works director will be authorized to execute the contract. The county may repay the unpaid balance of the loan in full at any time or make accelerated payments without penalty.
According to Weiss, Thurston County was awarded the loan through a "competitive process," receiving the fourth-highest project score out of over 60 applicants.
The construction of a two-lane road bridge over Green Cove Creek to replace a damaged culvert is estimated to cost $9.1 million, with funding coming from various sources, including the County Road Fund, the county real estate excise tax (REET 2) and stormwater utility funding.
Weiss added that the county would continue to apply for grant funding to offset the project costs.
The project is part of Thurston County's 2023 Public Works budget and 2023-2028 Transportation Improvement Program and Capital Improvement Program.
"I'm glad to see this move forward," said Commissioner Tye Menser, adding that this project was prioritized after consultations with the Squaxin Island Tribe.
Commissioner Carolina Mejia also called it a "great" project. "I think the pieces have slowly fallen into place," she added.
Commissioner Gary Edwards was excused from the meeting.
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