OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — Reconstruction of the 100 feet of Hurricane Ridge Road that washed out more than a week ago is expected to begin early next week, as soon as the last truckload of debris is removed, said Olympic National Park Superintendent Karen Gustin on Wednesday.
The two-lane road to the popular snow recreation area, Hurricane Ridge, 17 miles south of Port Angeles, crumbled earlier this month about a half-mile north of Heart O’ the Hills campground, blocking all highway access past the slipout.
The company hired for the job, Bruch & Bruch Construction Inc. of Port Angeles, had removed 7,500 cubic yards of dirt from the slipout as of 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, said park Civil Engineer Carl Elleard, with about 10,500 cubic yards left to go.
Elleard said the company is working 12-hour days six days a week and may be done removing the fill under the road, which began to fail Jan. 16 and finally gave way Jan. 18, as soon as Monday.
The roadbed at the point of the slipout was built on a fine-grained fill that was used to build the road that opened in 1958. No detour was possible around the washout, park officials have said.
The road is expected to be rebuilt in about six weeks.
Park staff say the project, which began last Friday, hasn’t faced any delays.
“Things have been going extremely well and it’s very busy,” said park spokeswoman Barb Maynes. “There’s a lot of activity.”
A total of 2,000 truckloads was expected to be needed to finish the job.
Elleard said the fill is being taken to a company-owned site west of the Elwha River.
He said the work crew spent Friday and Saturday preparing the site and mobilizing equipment.
Dirt removal began Monday.
The crew’s next job will be to replace a culvert, place drainage pipes into the hill where the slide occurred, fill the hole with gravel, which is less likely to slide due to rainfall, and repave the road.
The job is contracted at $1.4 million. Federal Highway Administration engineers estimate that the total cost will exceed $2 million when the work is done.
The drainage pipes, Elleard said, are intended to keep the hillside from becoming saturated with water and sliding as was seen 10 days ago.
Other portions of the 17-mile road built upon fill could see the same fate if they become too saturated.
Elleard said he couldn’t estimate accurately by the end of Wednesday how much of the road sits on fill. But in general, he said, fill has been used wherever the road crosses a creek.
Park staff take a close look at the slopes each year to determine how stable they are, Elleard said, and road inspections are done almost daily.
Farther up the road, at Milepost 6, he said drainage pipes will also be installed this fall, pending funding.
That portion of the road began to crack six weeks ago. Staff filled the cracks with grout.
The road is not at risk of failing, he said, but drainage pipes would help keep it from becoming any weaker.
The same pipes could be installed elsewhere along the slope if funding becomes available, Gustin said.
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
