PORT ANGELES — Hurricane Ridge Road will remain closed for an estimated six weeks while a washout is repaired, Olympic National Park officials said Wednesday.
The closure on Sunday cut off access to the popular Hurricane Ridge winter recreation area on the eve of the scheduled opening of the ski season, which is an important economic boost to the area each winter.
The Hurricane Ridge Ski and Snowboard School was scheduled to begin classes the weekend of Jan. 30, while snowshoe outings have been going on for several weekends.
Craig Hofer, manager of the Hurricane Ridge ski area, said the last few weeks of the season could be salvaged if the project is finished in six weeks.
However, he doubts that the project will be finished in six weeks because of the weather.
“I wish they would come up with a temporary detour,” Hofer said. “I don’t really understand.”
Russ Morrison, operations director for the ski area, said on Tuesday that he was hopeful for a temporary solution.
“We need to get access as soon as possible,” he said. “We have thousands of people who ski and take lessons.”
Barb Maynes, park spokeswoman, said park personnel are investigating possible detours around the slide, but that specific routes are not known.
“The possibility of an interim access is being discussed,” Maynes said.
Federal Highway Administration engineers and park officials on Wednesday inspected the active washout just north of Heart O’ the Hills campground where 100 feet of roadway crumbled into the Ennis Creek valley.
Park officials met with the three engineers to plan for reconstruction of the crumbled road.
Maynes said the work will begin no later than Friday.
“We’ll be removing the existing fill that is still there, and replacing the fill with a more suitable material,” she said.
The muddy fill that undercut both lanes of the only access route to the mile-high recreation spot 17 miles south of Port Angeles will be replaced by a rocky, gravel substance that is less prone to slides, Maynes said.
A culvert will be replaced with a larger culvert, and the road will reopen in about six weeks, Maynes said.
A Federal Highways Administration geotechnical engineer will assess the site today to confirm details of the repair design, park Superintendent Karen Gustin said.
“We are pleased to report that plans are coming together quickly and we expect to have a contractor in place to begin repair work no later than this Friday,” Gustin in a statement.
“We understand the importance of Hurricane Ridge to our region and we are fully committed to reopening the road as quickly as possible.
“We are also committed to repairing the road in a way that absolutely minimizes the chances of this happening again.”
Heavy rains triggered the slipout that began Saturday about five miles south of Port Angeles. Water is visible inside the soils. The road continued to crumble Wednesday.
The road bed was on fill used to build Hurricane Ridge Road about 52 years ago.
Access is cut off to the Heart O’ the Hills campground as well as to Hurricane Ridge. The roadway is blocked to all traffic, including pedestrians, bicycles and equestrians.
Ordinarily, if weather permits, the road to the popular snowplay area is open on weekends and holidays.
Maynes declined to say how much the project is estimated to cost because it hasn’t gone to bid.
The roadbed travels parallel to the headwaters of Ennis Creek, which flows north to Port Angeles and empties into the Strait of Juan de Fuca next to the site of the former Rayonier Inc. pulp mill.
Maynes addressed the Port Angeles Rotary Club’s noon luncheon on Wednesday and, in response to a question, said there’s no indication that any of the slipout will affect the creek farther north.
The washout is just south of the intersection to homes around Lake Dawn, a small community near the national park boundary. Access to Lake Dawn is not affected by the closure.
Craig Ritchie, Sequim city attorney and Lake Dawn resident, said he and his neighbors are not concerned about the possibility of re-routing Hurricane Ridge Road traffic onto Lake Dawn Road because it wouldn’t make sense to do so.
“I don’t think anybody’s thought about it,” Ritchie said.
During a $12 million project that was completed in November 2008, Hurricane Ridge Road was repaired in three areas damaged by storms. The 12-mile stretch between Heart O’ the Hills and Hurricane Ridge — above the slide area — was resurfaced.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
