PORT ANGELES — Commuters looking for a break from lane closures in Port Angeles may not want to hold their breath.
The state Department of Transportation will be paving a 1.5-mile stretch of First Street beginning Tuesday.
That project, taking place between Lincoln Street and Golf Course Road, is expected to last until June 3.
When it will be done
Lane closures can be expected from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. Sundays through Thursdays.
That work comes as the city is finishing its own paving project on First Street between Valley and Lincoln streets.
The city’s contractor, Road Construction Northwest Inc., is nearly done with that project.
The company still needs to finish striping and building crosswalks.
That could be done this week if the weather cooperates, said Glenn Cutler, city public works and utilities director.
“The weather has surprised us,” he said. “If we had a normal year, we would have been done well before today.”
The city originally was aiming to have the project done by Memorial Day.
That project began in February with the installation of a new stormwater pipe under the road.
The new pipe disconnects water runoff from the city’s sewer system.
Sewage overflows
Stormwater entering the sewer causes sewage overflows.
By disconnecting the pipe from the sewer under First Street, the city intends to offset the contribution of wastewater from the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe and avoid adding to its sewage overflow problem.
The reservation is being connected to the city’s sewer system because its septic tanks are expected to become unusable as the groundwater level rises as a result of the removal of the Elwha River dams.
Construction of the sewer system began about three weeks ago on the reservation.
The project will take between 12 and 15 months to complete, said Tom Belcher, project manager.
The National Park Service is paying for the sewer and most of the city’s First Street project, estimated at $2.25 million.
________
Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
