OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — Quinault Valley’s Graves Creek Road is now open to vehicles.
The Olympic National Park road crew has completed $140,000 in repairs after the road had three washouts.
The road repairs involved the placement of large logs along the length of the embankments, with the root wads facing into the stream to encourage the development of fish habitat, said Penny Wagner, park spokesperson.
Rock ballast was placed to secure the logs and prevent buoyancy. The gravel road was rebuilt over the logs which were salvaged from previous projects in the park, she said.
Graves Creek Road is a 6-mile long gravel road that runs from the intersection of the North and South Shore roads to the Graves Creek Trailhead.
The road sustained damage during the last two years of winter storms and the repairs were critical to maintaining vehicle access to the area.
The repair project was funded through the Federal Lands Transportation Program of the Federal Highway Administration.
For information about visiting Olympic National Park, visitors should consult the park website at www.nps.gov/olym.
