Commissioners seek meeting on Kandoll Road

Wahiakum County commissioners want to discuss repairs to Kandoll Road with the Columbia Land Trust before repairing damage that occurred in last January's floods.

Public Works Director Pete Ringen said funds are available from the Federal Emergency Management Administration to pay for the work, but there's no guarantee that the next high water won't cause the same damage.

Floodwater flowing over the road swept the gravel surface away and deposited it along the raised road bed.

Ringen attributed the damage to the design of habitat restoration projects by the land trust and Ducks Unlmited, whose engineers did the design work. The projects included replacing tide gates with culverts, modifying Kandoll Road, and breaching dikes.

"I think there's a responsibility to us from them to leave us with something that's not an ongoing problem," Ringen said.

"The road is impassable now even in a four-wheel drive vehicle," said commission Chair Dan Cothren. "The land trust needs to fix it. The road will be gone if they don't do it right. I can't see the county putting money into something that's their project."

Commissioners said they would invite land trust representatives to a commission meeting to discuss the situation.