OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — Crews are trying to preserve what’s left of Olympic Hot Springs Road near a massive washout in the Elwha River Valley, and Olympic National Park officials plan to provide pedestrian access through the area by the end of the month.
“Downstream from the washout, the bank is beginning to erode near the roadway,” said Barb Maynes, park spokeswoman.
Crews are making emergency repairs to stabilize the Elwha River bank to save parts of the road that remain, she said.
Park crews will have to wait until the rainy season is over before they can begin repairing the gaping 60-foot section of Olympic Hot Springs Road that was washed out earlier this winter, Maynes said.
The road is closed at the park gate at Madison Falls, 1 mile north of the washout.
A pedestrian trail is being built to bypass the damaged and flood-prone areas, and it should be open by the end of this month, she said.
There is no set date for repairs to the road, she said, but the park hopes to have it open with temporary repairs in time for Memorial Day weekend at the end of May.
The park was approved for a Federal Highway Administration emergency repair grant to make the temporary fixes, Maynes said.
She said she did not know how much money the park would receive.
A flood Nov. 17 reactivated a long-dry river channel behind the Elwha Campground, obliterating a section of Olympic Hot Springs Road and inundating the campground with silt and debris.
A second flood Dec. 8 and Dec. 9 caused additional damage to both the road and campground.
Engineers are working on both temporary and permanent designs that will have to meet strict environmental standards because the Elwha River is a major salmon-producing stream, Maynes said.
Currently, park maintenance employees are accessing areas south of the washout via a temporary bridge that spans part of the gap and has to be removed every time conditions indicate the water might rise, she said.
Park officials are trying to complete temporary repairs by Memorial Day weekend to allow visitors to access the Glines Canyon overlook, several trailheads and the Olympic Hot Springs.
Rehabilitation plans
Long-term repairs to the road will be part of a planned large-scale rehabilitation of the aging visitor infrastructure of Elwha Valley roads, trails and campgrounds, Maynes said.
Park planners expect to begin taking public comment and complete environmental studies on the project in a year or two, after which the park will complete the work, which should leave the area in good shape for visitors for decades, she said.
Hot springs reopened
The Olympic Hot Springs — natural hot spring pools located 2.5 miles above the Boulder Creek Trailhead — have reopened.
The pools were closed in October after Silverdale resident Bruce Gunderson was found dead in one of them.
An autopsy performed Oct. 30 revealed that the manner of death was an accident and the cause of death was freshwater drowning.
Park officials kept the pools closed after the death due to the possibility of health risks.
Once the pedestrian path is established, visitors can hike or bicycle the 10-mile route to the hot springs.
Campground fates
Two campgrounds in the Elwha Valley are closed, and only one is likely to reopen soon.
The silt and debris covering the Elwha Campground will have to be removed and repairs made, Maynes said.
Once that work is done, the campground is expected to reopen sometime this summer, she said.
The Elwha River changed its course during a December 2014 flood and removed several Altair Campground campsites as the main channel moved across its historic floodplain.
“Most of [Altair] is gone,” Maynes said.
The future use of the remaining portions of the campground is under consideration, she said.
In other parts of the park, Graves Creek Road in the Quinault area remained closed to cars due to a road washout caused by the same storms that damaged Olympic Hot Springs Road.
Access to the Enchanted Valley trailhead remains open for hikers, but with a longer walk from cars to the trailhead, Maynes said.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
