PORT ANGELES — Heart O’ the Hills campground, originally scheduled to partially reopen Saturday, now will do so on May 19.
The campground had been fully closed for construction and annual campground maintenance, but because of construction delays, Loop A will open on May 19.
The rest of the campground, including Heart of the Forest Trail, will remain closed as construction continues, with reopening planned at the end of June.
Visitors should expect temporary restroom and water facilities until late June. As construction continues in the rest of the campground, campers also should be prepared for construction noise from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday.
“This full closure allowed the contractors to work as efficiently as possible. Instead of visitors having to contend with construction for the entire summer, this project is now on a shorter timeline,” said Lisa Turecek, Olympic National Park’s facility manager.
“This whole project will be complete by the July 4th holiday weekend, and the campground will be fully reopened,” she said.
RJS Construction, Inc., which is a small business based in Yakima that is woman- and Native American-owned, is nearing completion on the $3.1 million utility project. Much of the project is sub-contracted to Jamestown Excavating of Sequim.
Workers are replacing all water distribution piping, rehabilitating the water treatment and storage infrastructure, jet cleaning and inspecting the sewage collection system, and replacing the campground’s septic and pump tank.
“Replacing the water distribution system’s 50-year-old iron pipe with flexible and jointless plastic pipe will eliminate leaks and cut water production in half, resulting in reliable and efficient water supply for decades to come,” said Kerri Cook, park engineer.
