Transfer station work begins

Thompson Falls’ solid waste transfer station is in the process of relocating to a new site closer to town. The new location is just east of the railroad overpass.

“We had a 25-year lease with TRL,” stated Jason Peterson, Solid Waste Refuse District Supervisor. “The lease came up, and they wanted to utilize the land differently.”

The county purchased a 10-acre piece of property on the east end of town where the station will now be located. Peterson believes this will provide a more permanent site for the transfer station.

Peterson stated that he did not have an exact dollar figure of the cost of the new transfer station construction because the figures “just keep changing.” He did comment that the dirt and gravel placement, Phase I of the project, was “split out of the main contract” for simplicity sake and to get the project moving forward.

“They call it (Phase I) the pre-load,” Peterson said. “They have to dump gravel, let it set for three to five months to see if it settles, then they’ll monitor it to see how much it settles.”

Phase II, the final construction of the site, will be out for contractor bids this winter, according to Peterson.

Pardee Excavating, LLC was awarded the Phase I contract and began gravel work at the site on Oct.15.