OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — Installation of the final stretch of fiber-optic cable conduit on Hurricane Ridge Road may disrupt traffic beginning this Tuesday.
Work is expected to be completed by Thanksgiving.
Motorists traveling the road south of Port Angeles may encounter delays of up to 15 minutes as park crews install 700 feet of conduit between the park entrance station at the Heart o’ the Hills campground and the road gate.
Flaggers will direct alternating traffic through one lane in construction areas.
Work will occur weekdays between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.
No holiday or weekend work is scheduled.
The project will complete a 12-mile stretch of conduit for a new fiber-optic cable telecommunication system for Ridge facilities.
Most of the conduit was laid in 2008 during a $12 million resurfacing project.
The final 700 feet of work will cost $24,750, she said.
“Using park staff to do the work saves the park about $60,000,” said park spokeswoman Rainey McKenna.
The new cable will replace an aging microwave radio communication system and provide improved communications for Hurricane Ridge facilities, McKenna said.
The cable is expected to arrive in December, but when it will be installed — and when the new system will go live — depends on the weather.
“It could be early as the end of the year, but more likely it will not be possible until early spring,” McKenna said.
The new system is expected to save the park $17,600 annually in lease and rental fees for equipment, she said.
Current road information is available by phoning the park’s recorded information line at 360-565-3131 or visiting www.nps.gov/olym.
