County banks on $400K in federal highway ‘stimulus’ funds

San Juan County is banking on $400,000-plus in federal highway “stimulus” money.

Though a final hurdle has yet to be cleared, Public Works Director Jon Shannon last week said the odds are better than good of the county receiving $416,620 in stimulus funding for the Fisherman Bay Road re-alignment project. That project, with its $2.6 million price tag, is already underway and the money would offset the cost of replacing fences along the right-of-way and to chip-seal from Military to Hummel Lake roads.

“We haven’t heard yet,” Shannon said. “But what we’ve heard through the grapevine is the amount of money we submitted for the project is not in question.”

If approved, Shannon said the federal funds will free up local revenue already earmarked for the road project on Lopez Island and allow the Department of Public Works to shift those dollars over to other maintenance, repair or construction projects. He said the federal money is earmarked for “private contractors” and that the department would contract out portions of the project, which can be undertaken by the private sector. A final decision from the state transportation department is expected within a week, he said.

That $400,000-plus, Shannon said, is a portion of the state’s share of federal stimulus intended for “shovel ready” highway projects. That means projects in which money could be spent within 90-180 days. The state received a $341.4 million federal infusion for “shovel ready” projects throughout the state.

Through its road division, Public Works maintains 272 miles of various roads, either gravel, asphalt or chip-sealed, throughout the islands. However, Shannon said only 47 miles, or roughly 17 percent of the total, are considered “major collector roads” under federal standards and, as such, are eligible for federal funding.

The department submitted a half-dozen local projects to the state for federal stimulus funding. But of that half-dozen, Shannon said that only the Fisherman Bay Road project stands a good chance of receiving stimulus money because of its timeliness and since only major collector roads, like Roche Harbor, Orcas and Fisherman Bay, qualify for federal funding.

While Public Works has a long list of road or trail projects in store, Shannon said that none, other than Fisherman Bay Road, are far enough along in planning or permitting to enable the department to begin “digging” within 180 days.

“The time frames are what is really killing us,” he said, “and the speed with which we would have to move.”