CMC employees to get lighted crosswalk

There will soon be a lighted crosswalk on Highway 174, where employees at Coulee Medical Center cross the highway from where they park.

A meeting was held recently with representatives from the Department of Transportation, Coulee Medical Center, Grant County PUD and Grand Coulee Mayor Paul Townsend.

Townsend said it’s a “go,” and “the papers have all been signed.”

Grant County PUD will install a streetlight near where the crosswalk will be located, the DOT will paint the crosswalk, and Grand Coulee will pick up the monthly energy cost.

Townsend said that it was estimated that it would cost the city “about $13-$15 a month.”

“The issue is a safety issue, and the area where workers at CMC cross is dark,” Townsend noted.

Kraid Fuller, plant operation manager at CMC, said the process went “smoothly.” The idea, he said, started with the city’s planning department and was moved along by city officials.

“Some 20 employees use the parking area and have to cross the highway to get to work,” Fuller said.

The way the crosswalk will develop, Townsend said, is that the PUD will put in the streetlight, and when that is complete the DOT will paint the crosswalk.

Townsend thanked all the agencies, and the part they played, in getting a light and crosswalk for that area.