PORT ANGELES — Repairs to Hurricane Ridge Road were under way four days after part of it slipped down a hillside, but the work still is estimated to be a six-week job with no bypass, leaving the ridge inaccessible.
Olympic National Park signed a contract with Port Angeles-based Bruch & Bruch Construction Inc. on Friday to repair a 100-foot section of two-lane road that crumbled last weekend about a half-mile north of Heart O’ the Hills campground.
The park has authorized Bruch & Bruch to spend $1.4 million to repair the road and restore public access to the popular Hurricane Ridge recreation area, but the cost may go up after the final terms of the contract are completed.
Federal Highway Administration engineers estimate that the total cost will exceed $2 million.
Park officials estimate the repairs will take six weeks to complete.
The work began on Friday, and will continue six days a week until it is done, park spokeswoman Barb Maynes said.
“We are extremely pleased to have a contract in place so quickly,” Olympic National Park Superintendent Karen Gustin said in a statement.
“A federal contract of this size usually takes four months to complete.”
I’m very grateful to both park staff and our federal highways partners for their work in making an award in only four days.”
Heavy rains caused the road to give way about five miles south of Port Angeles. The roadbed was built on a fine-grained fill that was used to build the road that opened in 1958.
The culvert did not fail, Maynes said, but it will be replaced with a larger one of six-feet diameter, and additional drainage will be constructed.
Crews from Bruch & Bruch will replace the old fill with a gravely material expected to hold up under heavy precipitation.
Before crews can build a new roadbed, they must first remove more than 2,000 truckloads of old fill.
The slipout began on Jan. 16 and undercut the road two days later. Hurricane Ridge Road is the only access to the mile-high Hurricane Ridge ski and snowboard area.
The washout occurred south of any intersection that would have allowed motorists to circumvent it.
For example, Lake Dawn Road, which extends from Little River Road to Hurricane Ridge Road, comes out north of the washout, and so is not a possible alternative access to the ridge.
“We understand the importance of this road to our region, and restoring access to Hurricane Ridge as quickly as possible continues to be the park’s top priority right now,” Gustin said.
No detour around slide
“We have looked thoroughly at several options for providing a bypass around the slide, but given the size, schedule, cost and location of this project, an alternative route is simply not feasible.”
Maynes said there is no place to put a detour. The road fell away on a steep hillside that drains into Ennis Creek.
“The most important thing is to get this open and have a permanent fix in place as soon as possible,” the park spokeswoman said.
“If we spent time creating a bypass, that’s time not spent on repairing the road.”
Crews will work 12 hours per day from Monday through Saturday to repair the road.
Park officials say the project will employ 30 workers, all of whom are from the North Olympic Peninsula.
Since the slipout is still active and considered dangerous, all public access past the slide is restricted.
The Lake Dawn neighborhood is just north of the washout and is not affected by the closure.
Olympic National Park will allow “administrative access” for staff to conduct routine maintenance at the Hurricane Ridge Visitor’s Center, Maynes said.
Staff members will hike around the washout to a place south of it where snow plows and smaller park vehicles are parked.
The Northwest Avalanche Center’s weather station at Hurricane Ridge is an automated system that continues to function.
Maynes said it’s unusual to negotiate a federal contract so quickly.
“It’s pretty exciting,” she said.
Ross Tyler, Clallam County engineer, said the park picked a good contractor and should have the road open in six weeks or less.
“This is an emergency situation that kind of bypasses a lot of the bidding requirements,” said Tyler, who offered county services after the road began to crumble.
“I’m glad to see they’re moving on it.”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
