Repairs to Aberdeen’s Basich Boulevard, closed since it began to wash out in late December, should begin next week, according to City Engineer Kris Koski.

At its July 29 meeting, the Aberdeen City Council approved a bid for repair of the critical Herbig Heights emergency route to the hospital and tsunami evacuation staging area to local contractor Rognlin’s Inc. Of three bids, theirs was the lowest at $575,000. An engineer’s estimate for repairs came in at $700,000.

The city had hoped construction could have started as early as Aug. 10, but the latest word is contractor crews will be mobilizing on Monday.

Efforts to secure FEMA and other disaster funding for the repair have so far been unsuccessful, so the city in May secured a $1 million state Public Works Board loan so repairs could be expedited. The 20-year loan is at an interest rate of 0.79%, with 20% forgiveness upon construction completion.

Meanwhile, the city will continue to seek outside funding for the repairs. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of the year.