OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — Repair of damage to roads and trails from the Dec. 3 storm will cost probably $5 million, said Barb Maynes, Olympic National Park spokeswoman, although that is a preliminary estimate.
Maynes said the December 2007 storm was more devastating to the park than the 2006 snow and wind storms.
“The amount of work that this storm has generated exceeds the damage done to the Olympic National Park last year because last year, most of the damage was concentrated along the Hoh,” she said.
“This year it’s so spread out.”
Damage includes three severely damaged sites along Hurricane Ridge Road, some of the access roads near Crescent Lake, “a huge amount of damage in the Quinault Valley,” and areas of Staircase, near the southern end of the park.
Repairs of damage to the Quinault area is expected to cost $3 million, once the decision is made about what to do, Maynes said.
In the Quinault Valley, Quinault Loop Road is inaccessible, and sections of North Shore, South Shore, North Fork and Graves Creek roads are closed to all public entry, including foot and bicycle access. Maynes said.
Public input is being requested to help develop alternatives for repairs, Maynes said.
A request was submitted Monday for $1 million from the Federal Highway Administration to cover emergency repairs of federally owned roads, Maynes said.
“That just covers repairs that are eligible for federal funding,” she said.
The request is for money to repair 17 sites within the park.
“Some may be funded through program, while others may not be,” Maynes said.
An additional $1 million in repairs will be needed for campgrounds, picnic tables, and some trails, Maynes said.
Hurricane Ridge Road will be repaired during a repaving project expected to begin in the spring.
