OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — Delays and one-lane road closures are expected during construction projects in Olympic National Park that begin this week.
The projects are on Hurricane Ridge Road beginning Wednesday and for five weeks beginning in October on U.S. Highway 101 along Lake Crescent.
Two failing culverts will be replaced along Hurricane Ridge Road at Mileposts 1 south of the park visitor center in Port Angeles, and Milepost 7 at Heart o’ the Hills beginning Wednesday.
The work will create one-lane traffic in construction areas and slight delays on the park’s popular thoroughfare, officials announced Monday.
The project is scheduled to continue through Sept. 28, weather permitting.
Construction crews will work weekdays from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, with delays expected of 15 minutes.
The Hurricane Ridge work is being done by Nova Contracting Inc. of Olympia for about $318,000, park spokeswoman Rainey
McKenna said.
Rock scaling and bolting of a cliff face along Highway 101 just west of Sledgehammer Point on Lake Crescent is scheduled to begin Oct. 6 and continue for five weeks.
The construction will reinforce the cliff face to lessen the chance of rocks falling onto the road.
The road will be reduced to one lane of traffic during construction.
Visitors should expect delays of up to 30 minutes.
Flaggers and pilot cars will guide motorists through the construction areas on weekdays, and temporary traffic signs and signals will be installed for weekend and evening travel.
Oversized vehicles are encouraged to use state Highway 112 as an alternate route to U.S. 101 along the lake.
“We urge motorists to use caution and drive slowly through work zones as repair work continues over the next few months,” acting park Superintendent Todd Suess said in a prepared statement.
The $432,500 bolting-scaling project is being done by Cherokee Construction Service LLC of Vancouver, Wash.
Current road information is available by calling Olympic National Park’s information line at 360-565-3131 or online at http://tinyurl.com/9tbnrca.
Crews have already begun work to install a new bridge over the North Fork Skokomish River on the Staircase Rapids Loop Trail at the southeast corner of the park.
A Portland-based heavy-lift helicopter is scheduled to fly construction materials for the new bridge into the park’s backcountry next Monday, Sept. 17, through Thursday.
A 1-mile section of the Staircase Rapids Loop Trail on the west side of the North Fork Skokomish River will be closed during helicopter operations.
Additional work, including installation of the bridge decking and railings, will be done by park employees and completed by January 2013, weather permitting.
Staircase Rapids Bridge crosses the North Fork Skokomish River and connects two segments of the Staircase Rapids Loop Trail.
The bridge was destroyed by record snowfall during the winter of 1998-1999.
Replacement of the bridge will restore the popular 2-mile loop trail.
Four new bridges are scheduled to be installed by park employees along the Elwha River Trail and Deer Lake Trail that will replace the Godkin Creek Bridge, two of the three spans of the Hayes River Bridge and the bridge at the outlet of Deer Lake.
The bridges and their abutments were removed by trail crews earlier in the summer.
Temporary foot logs currently provide passage for hikers at all three locations.
The bridge spans will be flown in by a heavy-lift helicopter and placed at the four sites during a one-day operation in late September or early October.
The date of the operation will be determined by weather conditions and helicopter availability.
To ensure visitor safety, the trail will be closed for a short time at each site when the bridges are placed.
Time and routine use caused the four bridge spans to deteriorate and decay.
Replacement of the bridge spans will restore access for stock animals along the two trails.