JOYCE — This week’s closure of state Highway 112 near Pysht won’t deter the organizers of this weekend’s Great Strait Sale.
The 61-mile community sale, which has been taking place every year since 2008 along Highway 112 from Laird’s Corner near Port Angeles to Neah Bay, is still on for Saturday, said chairwoman Sande Balch.
Balch said the state Department of Transportation’s announcement last Tuesday that it planned to close Highway 112 at Joe Creek from Thursday to Sept. 15 “was a bit of a surprise.”
Transportation will close the highway in the area of Joe Creek to replace an outdated and undersized culvert that poses a barrier to fish, officials said.
Local access will be maintained to about 100 feet on both sides of Joe Creek, they added. Before and after the closure at Milepost 33, drivers might encounter single-lane, alternating traffic during the day.
Balch wasn’t the only one in her group, the Juan de Fuca Scenic Byway Association, who was surprised.
“I came home to about 500 messages,” she said.
“I hope it won’t have too bad of an impact.”
On Saturday, Great Strait Sale shoppers can look for bargains along Highway 112 through the Joyce area and then detour on U.S. Highway 101 around Lake Crescent to Highway 113.
That roadway merges onto Highway 112 west of Pysht; shoppers can follow it to sales in Clallam Bay, Sekiu and Neah Bay.
The Great Strait Sale originated as an opportunity for the Highway 112 communities to participate as a whole in an activity that would draw people from all the neighboring communities and introduce those visitors to what the Strait of Juan de Fuca businesses and landscape have to offer, Balch has said.
The areas of Joyce, Clallam Bay/Sekiu and Neah Bay each has a community site set up welcoming sales to join together flea market-style.
Sales are planned at the Joyce Depot Museum, 50893 Highway 112; the Clallam Bay Visitor Center on Highway 112; and the Neah Bay Village Market, 931 Bayview Ave.
Highway 112 residents are encouraged to hold sales at their own homes or in their neighborhoods along the route. Businesses advertise specials or discounts available the day of the event.
A sale on Farrington Road in Joyce, said Balch, is promoted as “you name it, we got it.”
She’s also aware of two large sales in the Camp Hayden Road area in Joyce.
The Joyce Fire Department at 51250 Highway 112 will hold its open house and yard sale from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Further west, the Lions Club “and others” will host a sale at Fifth and Bogachiel streets near Milepost 17/16 in Clallam Bay.
The Scenic Byway Association has a free flier available for download on its website, www.highway112.org, with many business deals and locations of sales.
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Assistant Managing Editor Mark Swanson can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55450, or mswanson@peninsuladailynews.com.
