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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Goats will help clear weeds along corridor

State DOT hiring herd on trial basis

They say that goats will eat just about anything.

The Washington state Department of Transportation hopes so.

The agency is going to deploy a herd of goats in the next several weeks to eat an infestation of weeds growing alongside the North Spokane Corridor.

An Eastern Washington herdsman is being hired to have goats graze about 15 acres of weeds sometime late this spring or early in the summer.

The idea is to eliminate the weeds before they produce seeds. The goats are being brought in on a trial basis, but the agency said it believes the goats will be effective.

They were already used successfully in a trial in southwest Washington last year.

“Although goat usage will cost a little more than present weed control methods, unlike mowing, by the time a seed passes through the goat, it apparently has become sterilized and cannot produce another plant when re-deposited on the ground,” DOT said in a news release last week.

“This trial will test the use of grazing as a mowing tool to prevent and/or delay seed production in an established noxious weed infestation …”

DOT said it plans to spray the weeds near the end of the growing season, hoping to give them the final knockout blow.

During the grazing period, the goats will be contained within a fenced area of the corridor’s Children of the Sun trail to prevent straying onto the freeway.

Data collected during the trial will be weighed for future feasibility of goats as weed killers.

The herd owner under contract with the state in Eastern Washington has 250 goats.

Sullivan bridge work will close lanes, trail

The southbound Sullivan Road Bridge over the Spokane River will be closed Thursday morning as crews prepare for demolition. All traffic will be shifted to the northbound bridge with two lanes open for southbound traffic and a single lane open northbound. That configuration will remain into early 2016.

Replacement of the 1950 southbound span with a new, wider span comes six years after Spokane Valley engineers found the old bridge to be structurally deficient.

The Centennial Trail below the bridge will be closed at times during construction.

Max J. Kuney Co. of Spokane has a $12.3 million construction contract.

Work will include improvements at Sullivan Park on the river.

City, state and federal funds are being used.

High Drive project enters second phase

Work on the second phase in the reconstruction of High Drive is set to start May 11, city officials said.

The $5 million project is both a street reconstruction and stormwater utility project.

Funding will come from a variety of sources, including utility funds, a voter-approved street bond and federal grant money.

Residents of the area were involved in helping design the project. Completion is expected this fall.

I-90 widening will bring delays

A state project to widen Interstate 90 east of Snoqualmie Pass will result in some minor delays there this week.

The state will be using what it calls rolling slowdowns in which crews get in front of traffic and slow it intentionally to give workers time to enter the freeway and then get out of the way before the line of slow-moving vehicles arrives.

Cenex rewards three local volunteers

Three Spokane residents have been awarded a tank of free gasoline from Cenex in recognition of their volunteer contributions to the community.

The Tanks of Thanks program provides a $50 fuel card.

The recipients are William Ward, who does driving for those in need; Howard Riebe, who volunteers at the House of Charity and at church; and Angella Southerly, who coordinates fundraisers at Farwell Elementary School. She also volunteers in an art program.

 To nominate someone, go to TanksofThanks.com and briefly describe why the person deserves a free tank.

Lanes restricted for trail in Valley

In Spokane Valley, University Road at Appleway has lane restrictions for work on the new trail there. Signs approaching the construction zone are directing drivers to the right or left because the closure is in the middle of Appleway.