OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — A $1.3 million project to update an outdated wastewater system at Hurricane Ridge has restricted already scarce parking at the popular outdoor destination, but it is reportedly proceeding on schedule and is expected to be finished by the end of October.
“The project began in late June with drain field construction. The project is progressing as expected,” Penny Wagner, Olympic National Park spokesperson, wrote in an email.
The project is in the area to the southwest of the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center. The construction staging area is west of the visitor center.
Parking has been reduced by about 40 percent to allow for equipment storage, sand and sod. The sod is being watered and maintained for revegetation.
Vehicles up to 25 feet in length can park in a regular space, but designated parking for buses, RVs larger than 25 feet long and vehicles with trailers is limited.
Once the parking area fills up, the entrance station allows vehicles up as other vehicles leave.
Check twitter.com/OlympicNP for updates, or look at the Hurricane Ridge webcams for a view of the parking area.
Between middle and late July, septic and pump tanks will be delivered to the site and installed downslope of the access road. Drainfield construction is anticipated to be complete by the end of July or early August.
The project replaces a septic system built in 1951 that was not designed to handle current visitation levels, Wagner said.
The contract for the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center large onsite sewage system rehabilitation was awarded to Orion Construction, Inc. of Wasilla, Alaska, in the amount of $967,568, Wagner said.
Orion Construction has partnered with ADC Wastewater Engineering of Tacoma to provide professional design services and Northwest Cascade of Puyallup to complete the septic installation.
The current contract amount after modifications is $1.3 million, Wagner said.
