PORT ANGELES — Construction will get underway in late April under a traffic-disrupting, three-year contract to repave and restore the Lake Crescent Road portion of U.S. Highway 101 and all of East Beach Road.
The $27.5 million project, being managed by the National Park Service and Federal Highway Administration, was awarded Friday to low bidder Strider Construction Co. Inc. of Bellingham, Olympic National Park spokeswoman Barb Maynes said Monday.
Strider, one of four companies that submitted proposals, will rebuild 12 miles of the snaking Lake Crescent Road and 4-mile adjacent East Beach Road over three construction seasons: from late April through mid-November this year and March through mid-November — but not Thanksgiving — in 2018 and 2019.
Work will occur on weekdays only and not on federal holidays, with maximum 30-minute delays from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
There will be maximum four-hour daytime delays spring and fall of this year, 2018 and 2019.
Unhindered access to Forks, Clallam Bay and other West End destinations will be accessible by marked detours on state highways 112 and 113.
Work on East Beach Road, which provides direct, day-use access to the lake, will be completed this year, with most work occurring from late April until before June 1, and then after Labor Day.
Through-access on East Beach Road will not be available for up to two full weeks between Aug. 1 and Oct. 21 to replace a culvert, Maynes said.
The road includes some private residences and the popular Log Cabin Resort.
Olympic National Park officials “received quite a bit of public comment” about traffic disruptions for West End visitors, Maynes said.
“We had conversations with people about how to best accomplish the work, where we could, to have as minimum impact as possible to travelers, freight shipping and tourists,” she said.
“The work is very important. We also need to be sure people have access.”
No more than 20 four‐hour delays will be permitted each spring and each fall, Maynes said.
Four‐hour daytime delays can occur between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. only between April and late May and early September to mid-November all three years, and the additional month of March in 2018 and 2019.
Emergency vehicles will have access without delay at all times.
Up to six-hour overnight delays will be allowed between early September and mid-November all three years and in March in 2018 and 2019.
Those six‐hour delays can occur from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. and may only occur Mondays through Wednesdays.
All four- and six‐hour overnight delays must be scheduled and announced two weeks in advance.
More specific dates on when construction will start will be available in coming weeks, Maynes said.
The project will improve subsurface pavement conditions, apply new pavement, stabilize slopes, repair retaining walls, improve drainage, replace failing culverts, replace guardrails, mitigate rockfall hazards and improve intersections, Maynes said in a prepared statement.
The project will also improve the Sledgehammer Point overlook, including construction of accessible pedestrian paths, curbing, exhibit, seat walls and a new park entrance sign, she said.
A transit stop will be added in the Barnes Point area in cooperation with Clallam Transit.
For answers to frequently asked questions, go to http://tinyurl.com/PDN-CrescentAnswers.
A detailed description of the work schedule is at http://tinyurl.com/PDN-RoadSchedule.
Notices will be sent to area media outlets and posted to the state Department of Transportation traffic alert webpage at http://tinyurl.com/PDN-CrescentAlerts.
East Beach Road, built between 1911 and 1925, links Highway 101 and state Highway 112 as a bypass route around the lake.
Lake Crescent Road, along the south shoreline, was built in the early 1920s, replacing a ferry that crossed the lake.
More than 420,000 vehicles traveled Lake Crescent Road in 2015, Maynes said. More than 67,000 vehicles traveled East Beach Road in 2015.
Other companies that submitted bids for the project were Lakeside Industries of Port Angeles, which submitted the second lowest bid at $28.3 million, followed by Kiewit of Vancouver, Wash., and Granite Construction Co. of Everett.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55650, or at pgottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
