OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — Construction on U.S. Highway 101 around Lake Crescent is scheduled to begin April 15 but could be delayed by one week for a modified permit, Olympic National Park spokeswoman Penny Wagner said Friday.
Four-hour delays are planned for more than five weeks beginning April 15. The delays will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays through May 23, Wagner said.
Workers will complete road restoration near milepost 229 by constructing a mechanically stabilized earth retaining wall.
“The park is working with the Federal Highway Administration and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to ensure the necessary permit modification is in place to complete the additional work needed below the ordinary high water mark of Lake Crescent near milepost 229,” Wagner said Friday.
“While there is a chance the work will not begin April 15, that is the soonest the delays could begin and we want to provide as much advance notice as possible so drivers can plan accordingly. The timeline for the completion of the Highway 101 project remains the same.”
If the project needs to be delayed one week, Wagner said the park would make an announcement “as soon as possible.”
“We just want to make sure everyone has advance notice so folks can plan accordingly,” Wagner said.
The four-hour delays are not permitted during the busy summer season between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
During the four-hour delays, the highway for drivers traveling eastbound from Forks will be open to the turn for Barnes Point, where Lake Crescent Lodge is located.
Highway 101 westbound from Port Angeles will remain open up to mile marker 232/East Beach Road.
Travelers to and from the western side of the North Olympic Peninsula can use state Highway 112/113 as an alternate route during the delay.
Outside of the scheduled four-hour delays, drivers will encounter delays of up to a half-hour during weekday work hours.
This week, the delays will be no moire than half-hours.
Work hours are restricted to two hours after sunrise to two hours before sunset.
Strider Construction Inc. of Bellingham is the contractor for the $27.5 million project to rehabilitate 12 miles of highway around the lake. The final phase of the three-year project began in March.
The work for 2019 includes completing the guardrail replacement, restoring the road width near milepost 229, paving the final 2½-inch wearing surface, striping and sign replacement.
This project is being managed collaboratively by the Federal Highway Administration and the National Park Service.
For project updates, see the Federal Highway Administration website at https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/.
For information in real-time, check the state Department of Transportation travel alert website at https://www.wsdot.com/traffic/trafficalerts/.
