Olympic National Park damage in the millions
Peninsula Daily News
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Maynes said the December 2007 storm was more devastating to the park than the 2006 snow and wind storms.
"The amount of work that this storm has generated exceeds the damage done to the Olympic National Park last year because last year, most of the damage was concentrated along the Hoh," she said.
"This year it's so spread out."
Damage includes three severely damaged sites along Hurricane Ridge Road, some of the access roads near Crescent Lake, "a huge amount of damage in the Quinault Valley," and areas of Staircase, near the southern end of the park.
Repairs of damage to the Quinault area is expected to cost $3 million, once the decision is made about what to do, Maynes said.
In the Quinault Valley, Quinault Loop Road is inaccessible, and sections of North Shore, South Shore, North Fork and Graves Creek roads are closed to all public entry, including foot and bicycle access. Maynes said.
Public input is being requested to help develop alternatives for repairs, Maynes said.
A request was submitted Monday for $1 million from the Federal Highway Administration to cover emergency repairs of federally owned roads, Maynes said.
"That just covers repairs that are eligible for federal funding," she said.
The request is for money to repair 17 sites within the park.
"Some may be funded through program, while others may not be," Maynes said.
An additional $1 million in repairs will be needed for campgrounds, picnic tables, and some trails, Maynes said.
Hurricane Ridge Road will be repaired during a repaving project expected to begin in the spring.
Hurricane Ridge
Three stretches of Hurricane Ridge Road have been narrowed to one lane because part of the roadway and shoulders were undermined after flooding caused by debris plugging a culvert during the Dec. 3 storm.
Those repairs will be made during a two-year repaving project that has been in the works for several years, Maynes said.
Resurfacing and reconstruction of some areas of the roadbed will be done on 12 miles of the road, from the Heart O' The Hills entrance to the top of the ridge.
Repairs of the damage caused by the December storm will be "folded into" the contract that is expected to awarded by the Federal Highway Administration for the repaving project within the next month, Maynes said.
The project will rehabilitate the road built in the late 1950s and last resurfaced in the early 1980s.
In the meantime, the damaged areas are marked off by highway cones and barriers.
"The immediate solution, just to get people up there for the winter, was to cone off the damaged areas," Maynes said.
Avalanches
The road often has been closed this season because of heavy snow or avalanche daager.
"This has been a tough winter as far as avalanche and snow are concerned," Maynes said.
Avalanches were cleared from the road over last weekend, she said.
The snow on the ridge is deep, with 125 inches reported on Tuesday.
"That's 165 percent of normal," Maynes said.
The are is getting as much snow as eastern Washington, she said.
"The difference is, we don't have an interstate."
High wind has also prompted closure of the road.
"It might be calm here," but the ridge has had wind speeds of up to 60 mph.
"Once you get above 30 to 40 mph, you get in a whiteout situation," Maynes said.
"There's not enough visibility for driving, or anything else."
To check on the Hurricane Ridge Road condition, phone the park's hot line at 360-565-3131.
Last modified: February 05. 2008 9:00PM