PORT ANGELES — The popular Spruce Railroad Trail at Lake Crescent is getting a face-lift: an 8-foot-wide asphalt surface with 3 feet of gravel to accommodate more trail users.
An asphalt surface was approved under a new plan that Olympic National Park announced Monday — the National Park Service’s “finding of no significant impact” on the environmental assessment — that literally paves the way for the 3.5-mile trail.
Restoration of the Spruce Railroad Trail and its 94-year-old railroad grade includes the re-opening of two historic railroad tunnels on the north shore of the iconic lake.
The park is teaming up with Clallam County to improve the trail for hikers, cyclists, wheelchair users, equestrians, roller bladers and other non-motorized trail users looking to avoid the hazards of U.S. Highway 101 through the Lake Crescent corridor.
Once completed, the Spruce Railroad Trail will become a signature segment of the 130-mile-long Olympic Discovery Trail, which eventually will span the North Olympic Peninsula from Port Townsend to LaPush.
“We look forward to the next steps in establishing an accessible, multipurpose trail in the beautiful Lake Crescent area, while still protecting the unique and nationally significant historic and natural values of Lake Crescent and the Spruce Railroad,” Olympic National Park Acting Superintendent Todd Suess said in a statement.
Public feedback helped mold the trail surface during the park’s two-year planning process.
In May, the park released an environmental assessment with a preferred alternative calling for a “firm and stable” crushed-rock surface.
The Peninsula Trails Coalition, county officials and others objected, saying the crushed rocked and steep grades would not meet Americans With Disabilities Act standards, would not accommodate road bikes and would be difficult to maintain.
After considering 77 comments received in May and June, Olympic National Park staff developed a new environmental assessment with an asphalt surface.
“The county is very pleased that the park selected Alternative 5, which would provide an appropriate surface and width for all users,” said Rich James, Clallam County transportation program manager and an architect of the Olympic Discovery Trail.
Last year, the park received 143 public comments on its initial proposal for a 6-foot-wide surface with grades as steep as 18 percent.
Clallam County, the city of Port Angeles, the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe, the Peninsula Trails Coalition and others opposed the non-ADA-accessible proposal, and the original environmental assessment was rescinded.
The “finding of no significant impact” on the current environmental assessment calls for a maximum grade of 8.3 percent in one segment and grades of less than 5 percent for the rest of the trail.
A new segment will be built near the Lyre River on the east end of the trail to bypass existing steep grades, Suess said.
The decision document calls for a new pedestrian and equestrian bridge at Devil’s Punchbowl on a bypass trail to the popular swimming hole.
The new Spruce Railroad Trail will take cyclists and other trail users through the east tunnel above the punchbowl.
Once completed, the Spruce Railroad Trail will tie East Beach Road near the Lyre River headwaters to an existing 6.4-mile segment of the Olympic Discovery Trail above Camp David Jr. Road that Clallam County built two years ago on the west end of the lake.
County commissioners July 31 initiated a $2.7 million road project for 12 miles of the trail from the Lyre River to Fairholm Hill, including the Spruce Railroad Trail.
In 2009, the county received a $999,000 grant from the state Recreation and Conservation Office to restore the historic tunnels and rehabilitate the Spruce Railroad Trail.
Park officials said construction is dependent on funding, and no timeline has been set.
“We’re going to be meeting soon with the park to plan the first phase of construction on the Spruce Railroad Trail,” James said.
James added that much of the design work has been completed, and construction likely will begin next year.
Park officials said the project is part of President Barack Obama’s America’s Great Outdoors Initiative.
“One of the primary goals of the America’s Great Outdoors Initiative is to work with communities to reconnect people with nature and strengthen our local economics through outdoor recreation and tourism,” Suess said.
“This project illustrates the value of public and community collaboration, as important issues and concerns have been raised throughout the process and have helped shape the final decision.”
Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
