Prepare to get dusted

BONNERS FERRY — The plume of dust behind vehicles driving on gravel roads will be wide-spread this summer due to limited funding for dust abatement.

Less than 15 percent of the gravel roads will receive dust abatement treatment this summer, said Jeff Gutshall, Road and Bridge Superintendent.

“We will do what we can with what we got,” said Gutshall. “We are trying to address the worse problems.”

Problem areas include those where houses are immediately adjacent to a road and areas prone to washboards. The treatment (calcium chloride pellets) acts as a stabilizer on the roadway and prevents washboards and to some extent potholes, said Gutshall.

The treatment leaches down into the road bed and to keep it effective the road can only be graded a few times.

“You don’t want to over grade,” said Gutshall. “A trade off between potholes and dust.”

Areas with residual treatment can be treated with less intensity in the following year.

“It isn’t as bad as it use to be,” said Gutshall. “We never had it before [2001].”

Between 2001 and 2009, county residents enjoyed relatively dust-free roads due to a grant. The dust abatement program was sponsored by the Department of Environmental Quality for air quality and transportation.

Boundary County received the grant for $80,000 a year for dust abatement chemicals until the program ended in 2009.

The county has been funding the program since then but with a reduction in SRS (Secure Rural School) funds the dust abatement budget was reduced to $25,000 last year.

Boundary County Commissioners and the Road and Bridge department are discussing a cost-share program to treat more gravel roads in the county with the same amount of money.

Similar to the cooperative weed program, residents could request a portion of their county road be treated. The resident would pay for a portion of the treatment and the county would match.

“It strikes me as a good idea,” said Commissioner Walt Kirby.

“A great way to make the money go farther,” said Gutshall. “I think largely it could work. I see a few problems.”

One problem could be the county not having enough funds to match cost-share applications.

Commissioner Dan Dinning mentioned the fairness for people who cannot afford to pay.

The program would have to be initiated in February or March to allow residents time to apply for cost-sharing and the department to determine efficient routes for equipment.

“You have to do what is right for the county roads,” said Commissioner LeAlan Pinkerton.