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A long-planned state rest area has finally opened in Elbe, on a part-time basis for now. It should bring relief in more ways than one.
There’s no other public restroom in the community, so the bathroom burden for years has fallen on local businesses. Elbe restaurants and stores have dealt with everything from vandalism and messes to increased supply costs as noncustomers desperately in need of a pit stop turned to their privies.
“There’s nowhere to use the restroom here, and people have got to go somewhere,” said Helen Majors, manager of the Elbe Bar and Grill.
She said she’s already noticed fewer drop-ins seeking to do their business at her establishment since the rest area opened this month.
Some in Elbe do have concerns about the facility on state Route 7, namely that it might not have enough parking. It has about a dozen spaces.
Elisa Fruzzetti, owner of the Mount Rainier Railroad Dining Co. by the rest area, said she’s worried there could be problems such as traffic backups.
The project also has taken a long time and cost an awful lot of money, she said.
But, “(a public restroom) is something the town has needed for a very long time. It is good that we do have something,” Fruzzetti said.
The building that holds the bathrooms isn’t new – far from it. The two-story, 3,000-square-foot structure is a refurbished Civilian Conservation Corps bunkhouse and garage from the 1930s. It once housed crews that battled forest fires.
The bottom floor now has a small lobby, as well as privies for men and women and a unisex bathroom for families. There are two waterless urinals and five outhouse-like, no-flush “vault” toilets. The top floor isn’t open to the public.
In all, the project price tag is about $3.2 million, including design, right-of-way acquisition and construction. The figure reflects more than a decade of work to bring a rest area to Elbe. The state Department of Transportation began planning in 1999.
The size of the project fluctuated in the years that followed. At one time there was talk of a facility with up to 16 toilets and 100 parking spaces at a cost of $6 million.
Yvonne Medina, WSDOT facilities administrator, said the smaller finished product will preserve some of Elbe’s history and also fill a need.
“It’ll get travelers off the road, give them a chance to mitigate fatigue,” she said.
The money for the rest area comes from National Scenic Byways grant funds and state coffers.
For now, it’s open weekends and holidays, although it’s slated to be open daily during the busier spring and summer months.
Sara Schilling: 253-552-7058
sara.schilling@thenewstribune.com
blog.thenewstribune.com/street
