Damage from the weekend’s heavy rains have reduced state Highway 112 in west Clallam County to one lane in at least eight locations, and repair costs are approaching $500,000, the state Department of Transportation said Monday.
“We are working at eight or nine sites along [Highway] 112, although some are within a tenth of mile of each other,” said Nick Dawson, a department spokesman.
“We’re running single-lane alternating traffic with flaggers at those locations,” he said.
The problems include both erosion of the road shoulder and cracking of the pavement, he said.
Shoulder erosion was reported at milepost 3.8, just west of Rasmussen Creek; milepost 4.4 east of Rasmussen Creek; milepost 4.9; and milepost 15.9, one-half-mile west of Clallam Bay.
Road cracking also was reported at milepost 2.2 east of Bull Man Creek, and milepost 36.9 between Deep Creek Bridge and West Twin River Bridge.
Shoulder erosion and roadway cracking was reported at milepost 9.2, about a half-mile west of the Sekiu River Bridge.
Milepost counting starts east from where Highway 112 enters the Makah Reservation.
State maintenance crews already repaired shoulder erosion at milepost 5.5 and milepost 8.2, which were damaged after a Jan. 1 storm.
Delhur Industries Inc. of Port Angeles is doing the repair work, which includes using big tree root balls and rocks to shore up the roadway shoulders, Dawson said.
The $500,000 estimate is on the high end, but when costs reach that level, the project shifts from Transportation’s maintenance office to its construction office, Dawson said.
PA mall flooded
The heavy rainfall also caused problems at Port Angeles’ Harbor Town Mall.
The structure at the corner of Railroad Avenue and Lincoln Street suffered significant flood damage Monday that closed two restaurants, Thai Peppers and India Oven.
Thai Peppers manager Becky Beck said when she arrived at 8 a.m. Monday, items in the restaurant’s downstairs office were floating in as much as two feet of water.
“It looked like a river and it wasn’t even high tide. Computers and books were floating everywhere,” she said.
“I wasn’t comfortable having customers in here.”
An insurance adjuster is scheduled to assess the damage today and the restaurant will be open, Beck said.
The nearby India Oven also reported closing on Monday due to flood damage.
