Keeping Hurricane Ridge Road open isn’t cheap.
It costs about $347,000 annually to maintain the road to the Peninsula’s only ski area, Olympic National park Superintendent Dave Morris told members of the Port Angeles Business Association during their weekly breakfast meeting Tuesday.
That’s more than half the total $650,000 the park spends annually on roads, he said.
“It is not very economical,” Morris said. “It costs us about $10 per visitor (to the park).
“But we feel it is important.”
Of the amount allocated for Hurricane Ridge Road, $232,224 is spent on maintenance; $94,500 on law enforcement, emergency and visitor services; and $20,325 on education services.
The balance of the $650,000 covers the cost to maintain other park roads, including access to the Quinault area, Queets Road and coastal roads during the winter.
Morris estimated that 2,000 people visit the Hurricane Ridge winter recreation area per week during the 16-week winter season.
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