The cost of rebuilding a section of Mill Road between Potlatch Corp.'s main and east gates will be shared by the company and Nez Perce County.
The cost is estimated at $30,000 to tear up and repave about a quarter-mile of road, but it's also just a short-term fix,
County Commission Chairman Larry Vincent said Wednesday after a meeting with the company and private landowners in the area.
A slow-moving landslide is pushing the road upward, creating humps. It was repaved for the same reason about four years ago, Vincent said.
County road department employees are checking the area daily for indications the slide is escalating and for safety hazards such as sinkholes, he said.
Potlatch has started pumping water out of wells on the slope, which has been used for disposal of waste material.
Engineers estimate stabilizing the toe of the slide could cost more than $10 million, Vincent said.
Another alternative is to move the road north onto Potlatch property, but that would entail moving railroad tracks and possibly the company's effluent line, he said.
The county considered abandoning that part of the road, but Potlatch and members of the Teats and McCann families who own property it accesses objected.
Potlatch agreed to pay half the cost, because the agreement it has with the county is there are no load limits there during spring break-up, when moisture makes road surfaces vulnerable to damage, Vincent said.