Pullman's Project Downtown reaches midpoint

The city of Pullman’s expansive plan to revitalize downtown has reached the halfway point. 

Mayor Francis Benjamin said the work has been coming along well and crews haven’t run across any major hiccups. The project has remained on schedule, he said, and is on track to be completed by October. 

“It’s pretty phenomenal considering what has been done,” Benjamin said. “I’ve been very impressed with what we’ve been able to do. … It’s all going according to plan.” 

The project is a city-led initiative to rebuild Pullman’s streets, public spaces and infrastructure. It encompasses all of Main Street, from Grand Avenue to Spring Street. Crews from Apollo Inc., a Kennewick, Wash.-based construction company, will upgrade downtown’s utilities, streets, sidewalks and more. 

The nearly $12 million venture was primarily funded by $9.5 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding, with the rest compensated by local city tax budgets. Of that figure, construction costs total almost $9 million. Other amounts funded the project design put together by Welch Comer, a Coeur d’Alene-based engineering firm. 

It’s been a multiyear process, with city staff having planned for about four years before the project broke ground in April, Benjamin said. 

Since construction began, crews have been excavating century-old pipes, replacing utilities and more as the effort progresses. 

Benjamin said the first part of the project is focused on installing underground services before surface work can begin. 

Avista Utilities completed replacing downtown’s gas main in late May, according to Project Downtown’s website. Crews have been installing new sewer infrastructure, water lines and stormwater systems since June. 

Water services are anticipated to be finished by the end of July, according to the project website. All lines should be installed and connected to the new water main in the latter half of the month. 

Benjamin said utility work would continue until August. One of the final components is extending a stormwater line from Main Street to the south fork of the Palouse River. This will enable excess runoff to be diverted from downtown. 

The portion of work will close Pine Street Plaza and the Kamiaken Street Pedestrian Bridge on July 15 until mid-August. Benjamin said officials are finding alternative routes for the public to still access downtown. 

Efforts will shift in August when crews begin mapping out the downtown layout. Benjamin said curbs and gutters will be constructed, following sidewalks and street paving when utility work has concluded. 

“In a few weeks we’ll really start to see things come together,” he said. “We’ll move into the timeline where people can begin to envision the new layout.” 

The project has run into a few issues, Benjamin said, but nothing substantial. In May, a gas line ruptured which caused an outage to around 80 downtown customers for a day. A water line ruptured in June which caused a couple businesses to lose service for a short period of time. 

Benjamin said crews found a few areas that required soil regeneration. Over the course of Pullman’s life, a few gas stations have occupied downtown, and while there haven’t been any new contamination that entered the ground, previous leaks remained under Main Street. 

He said this was anticipated, and a plan was put in place to address the pollutants. Early this summer, crews sampled and treated the area while properly disposing of the contaminated soil. 

Throughout the process, Benjamin said Apollo Inc. has made a point to conduct work in a way that has the least impact on surrounding businesses, and that crews have done a good job at communicating with owners and upgrading systems that don’t pause services. 

“Welch Comer and Apollo are phenomenal to work with,” he said.

The community has come out to support downtown businesses, Benjamin said. He hopes it’s something that continues as the project advances. 

“I’ve seen a number of people that are making an effort to show their support, and that’s something that’s very critical,” he said. “They’re doing this because they value the businesses, and they want them to be there when we open Main Street back up.” 

Benjamin encourages people to visit downtown, and mentioned Pullman Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Pullman Association often hold promotional events. 

He, along with many others, are excited to see the project completed. 

“There’s a lot of excitement that we’re over the mid-hump,” Benjamin said. “And the opportunities that are going to follow this much needed upgrade.” 

More information about Project Downtown Pullman is available at projectdown townpullman.org. 

Pearce can be reached at epearce@dnews.com.