PORT ANGELES — Clallam County commissioners have awarded a $957,402 bid to Jordan Excavating of Port Angeles to pave 5.4 miles of the Olympic Discovery Trail in the Sol Duc Valley.
Commissioners opened three bids Tuesday and reconvened later in the day to award the contract.
County Engineer Ross Tyler said the bid award was a “big step” in the expansion of the Olympic Discovery Trail, which eventually will connect Port Townsend to LaPush.
The contract is for construction of the trail between U.S. Forest Service Road 2918 and Cooper Ranch Road.
The estimate was $1.01 million. The project has $980,000 in federal grant funding.
Commissioner Mike Doherty thanked Transportation Program Manager Rich James and others in the road department for working to “beat the weather” on the trail improvements.
Tyler said the section may be finished by the end of this year, depending on the weather and how fast the contractor wants to pursue it.
“What they’ll do is they’ll put some crushed [rock] on top to make sure it’s all tuned up and right, then they’ll pave everything,” Tyler said.
Section ownership
Clallam County took ownership of a 0.86-mile section of Forest Service Road 2918 in January to extend the Olympic Discovery Trail to the West End.
From the paved one-lane Forest Service road, the trail crosses a Merrill & Ring bridge and heads east through Merrill & Ring property and Forest Service land on an old railroad grade to Cooper Ranch Road and Mary Clark Road.
Once a connecting segment is built next year between Fairholme Hill and Forest Service Road 2918, cyclists will be able to ride on a paved surface between Lake Crescent and Sappho away from U.S. Highway 101.
Meanwhile, Clallam County is working with Olympic National Park to restore the 4-mile Spruce Railroad Trail on the north shore of Lake Crescent to allow cyclists, pedestrians, horseback riders and wheelchair users to get around the lake without the hazards of the highway.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.