PORT ANGELES — Lower Eden Valley Road will be closed for eight weeks this summer as the state Department of Transportation replaces a culvert for fish passage on state right of way, county commissioners learned Monday.
Residents on 14 affected properties will use Dan Kelly Road as a detour, project engineer Jerry Moore said.
County-owned Eden Valley Road will be closed where it meets state Highway 112 about 6 miles west of Port Angeles. The closure will take place between July and September.
“We’ve minimized the impact of that part of the project,” Moore told commissioners.
“We’ll just get in there and get out as fast as we can.”
Culvert replacement
The state also will replace a nearby culvert where Coville Creek goes under the highway.
The state highway will not close during the project, Moore said.
Residents who live on upper Eden Valley Road will continue to take Dan Kelly Road to get to Port Angeles and points east.
Eden Valley Road provides an alternate westerly route to U.S. Highway 101 near Lake Sutherland.
Transportation officials will advertise for bids next month. Firm dates for the closure will be announced after the bid is awarded, Moore said.
New judge
Meanwhile, commissioners Monday unanimously approved a resolution appointing John Doherty to serve the remainder of Erik Rohrer’s term on the bench of Clallam County District Court 2 in Forks.
Doherty, a former Clallam County District Court judge in Port Angeles and Quileute Tribal Court judge in LaPush, was appointed after three finalists were interviewed last month.
The resolution that passed Monday affirmed the appointment.
Commissioner Mike Doherty, John’s Doherty’s brother, recused himself from the interview process and from Monday’s vote.
Forks Mayor Bryon Monohon, a county commissioner pro tem, took Mike Doherty’s place.
John Doherty will serve the remainder of a term that expires in 2014.
Rohrer was sworn in as a Clallam County Superior Court judge Monday.
Youth treatment
Commissioners spent the majority of their work session discussing a Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration grant that would expand youth treatment in Clallam County.
The three-year $251,000-per-year agreement would fund the hiring of a case-management coordinator and treatment and chemical dependency counselor to work with at-risk and addicted kids.
Commissioners pulled the item from Tuesday’s agenda to get more feedback from human resources staff and Clallam County Juvenile and Family Services Director Pete Peterson on the impacts of hiring new grant-funded employees and the reorganization that would be required.
The agreement likely will come up in next Tuesday’s work session, set for 9 a.m.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
