OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — Four-hour delays on U.S. Highway 101 at Lake Crescent will begin Monday.
Scheduled from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, the delays are anticipated to last through June 13 as the National Park Service and the Federal Highway Administration finish the final year of a three-year project to rehabilitate 12 miles of highway around the lake.
No road work — or delays — are planned on the Memorial Day holiday on May 27, according to Penny Wagner, Olympic National Park spokeswoman.
The four-hour delays, which are needed for crews to restore the roadway width and shoulder area in front of a rock wall near milepost 229 — originally were expected to begin April 15 and be completed before Memorial Day Weekend.
Park officials had previously said that the four-hour delays would not occur between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
But the park lacked a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to work below the ordinary high water mark since originally it was not thought such a permit would be needed. However, structures that retained the road prism failed, requiring changes to the design approach and permit requirements, Wagner said.
The final projected completion date for the project is mid-August — still ahead of the original timeline, Wagner said.
“The decision to allow four-hour delays for a few weeks beyond Memorial Day will result in the project being completed sooner, with fewer impacts to the public, and achieve the best final result,” she said in a press release.
During these four-hour delay periods, Highway 101 eastbound from Forks will be open to the turn for Barnes Point where Lake Crescent Lodge, Storm King Information Station, NatureBridge and the trailheads are located.
Highway 101 westbound from Port Angeles will be open to East Beach Road. Travelers to and from the western side of the peninsula can use state Highways 112/113 as an alternate route during the delay.
Outside of the four-hour delays, drivers should continue to expect half-hour delays Monday through Friday during work hours, Wagner said. Short delays also are possible after hours and on weekends.
Strider Construction Inc. of Bellingham is the contractor for the $27.5 million project.
The remaining work includes sign replacement, which begins this week; paving the final 2½-inch driving surface, which is set to begin June 3 and last between six and eight weeks depending upon the weather; and striping.
Striping is the final step that will require delays of more than a half-hour each, Wagner said.
For more information, see https://tinyurl.com/PDNlakecrescentrehab.
