OIL CITY — A portion of Oil City Road south of Forks that was washed out in recent storms could be reopened this week.
“That’s my goal,” Monte Reinders, Jefferson County public works director, said Friday.
“It’s going quite well, and I think the road will be passable by Wednesday.”
The stretch of road between mileposts 8 and 9 was washed out by the Hoh River on Nov. 14-15 after the river was swollen by a storm that struck the North Olympic Peninsula on Nov. 12.
Only three people live beyond the washout, but the road also has recreational importance, getting considerable traffic since it leads to an entry point for a section of the Pacific Northwest Trail, according to Kathy Dickson, one of the residents.
The trail, which begins in Montana, is 1,200 miles long and ends near La Push, with a section that extends south to Oil City Road.
The road terminates at Olympic National Park property and is also popular among anglers.
The Jefferson County commissioners declared a state of emergency for the road a week ago, which enabled the public works department to hire a contractor without a standard bidding process.
Reinders hired Seton Construction of Port Townsend to shore up the road.
Repairs are estimated to cost about $150,000 and include reinforcing the washout with riprap and building a new road on its top.
Gov. Jay Inslee declared a state of emergency Wednesday, which will allow the county access to funding sources, according to Eric Kuzma, a public works project manager, who said that the county will apply for funding.
Kuzma said the completion date depends upon the weather, but the riprap is now in place so a future storm would not require crews to start over.
Dickson, who is retired, lives in a house she describes as a comfortable family homestead that is accessible about 80 percent of the time.
She gets to town now by driving from the house to the west side of the washout, walking around it and driving a car she has parked on the east side.
She was without phone service for several days. The storm knocked down phone lines. Service was restored Thursday.
Dickson said the river subsided last Monday but at its highest point, it was traveling at about 40,000 cubic feet per second — 10 times its normal rate.
Reinders said he chose to not work the crew over the weekend due to the additional cost.
“The county is working really hard to finish this,” Dickson said.
“We really appreciate that.”
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
