Pullman project set to finish early next year

PULLMAN — The city of Pullman’s project to revitalize downtown is experiencing more delays.

Welch Comer, the city’s consultant, announced Wednesday the entire project is now expected to be complete by late January. The engineering firm attributes the latest setback to supply chain challenges.

Since April, Main Street has been closed while crews from Apollo Inc., a Kennewick-based construction company, rebuild downtown’s streets, sidewalks and utilities.

Work was anticipated to only take four months, however that timeline has shifted several times.

Main was supposed to open to limited traffic on Oct. 15. That deadline was pushed back twice until the roadway opened Nov. 14. Work was going to be fully complete by Nov. 22, which has since changed.

Welch Comer said crews need more time to install new traffic control signals on Main and Spring streets. The old lights will temporarily be mounted until the new ones are received.

Workers will continue planting trees and bushes downtown until the first week of December. Truck and vehicle detours on Bishop Boulevard will remain in place until this work is finished.

The nearly $12 million project was financed by $9.5 million from the American Rescue Plan Act. In September, the Whitman County Commissioners gave the city $200,000 to aid costs.

The project has run into several issues throughout the process. Along with a prolonged timeline, it’s also running over budget from added costs related to treating contaminated soil.