Cowlitz County seeks $1 million grant to rebuild troubled Dyke Road while awaiting Army Corps permit

Cowlitz County public works asked commissioners on Wednesday to back a $1 million rural development grant request to reconstruct a badly deteriorated section of Dyke Road that county staff said has never had a proper structural base and is failing under heavy truck traffic.

Susan Eugenus, representing county public works, said the project stretches roughly from milepost 3.05 to 5.32 and uses a grind-and-cement-stabilized-base technique to create a new structural foundation before paving. "This project is shovel ready as soon as we get that final permit," Eugenus said, referring to a U.S. Army Corps 408 permit the county was told would be issued on June 10.

Why it matters: the segment lies where agricultural roads were built on levy fill and were historically chip-sealed; heavier industrial traffic in recent years — including asphalt and aggregate trucks tied to nearby industrial development — has increased axle loading and accelerated pavement failure. Eugenus said the county spends "anywhere from $200,000 to half a million" a year on pothole repairs on Dyke Road and estimated a full reconstruction would cost about $5.2 million.

County staff described a compressed schedule to preserve a summer construction window: if the permit arrives as expected, the county would advertise for bids, award a contract in mid-July, begin work July 27 and aim to finish by Nov. 9. Eugenus said the county will advertise now and can extend or reject bids if the permit is delayed. "If we don't get the permit, we either extend the bid or reject all bids," she said.

Eugenus also told the board that recent local industrial activity makes the upgrade urgent because standard chip-seal surfaces and small gravels lack the base needed for frequent heavy trucks. She outlined prior partial funding from state programs and that the current ask — $1 million — would augment local road funds and improve the county's ability to match future grants.

A separate staff item on the same agenda asked authorization for a corrected temporary construction easement with the Bellfields so a contractor can regrade and pave a driveway approach altered during a nearby road lift; Eugenus asked the board to allow the chair to sign the corrected easement. "My request is to allow the chairman to go ahead and sign that temporary construction easement," she said; no formal vote was recorded in the meeting minutes.

Next steps: county staff said they will proceed with bid documents and hope to move into construction as soon as the Corps issues the 408 permit. The county requested the board consider the $1 million rural-development grant as a local match enhancer for future phases of road work.

Reporting note: statements and quotes are drawn from public works' presentation to the Cowlitz County Board of Commissioners; the Army Corps permit date is reported by county staff as an expected date, not a Corps-issued final order.