PORT TOWNSEND — Commissioners from Jefferson and Clallam counties may have identified a funding source to repair damages sustained to the Upper Hoh Road when the river surged in December.
Gov. Bob Ferguson is working to solidify the funding source and shared the option during an emergency Zoom meeting this weekend with stakeholders from the state and the North Olympic Peninsula, Jefferson County Commissioner Heidi Eisenhour said Monday.
Brionna Aho, the communications director for the governor’s office, said announcing the funding source is premature.
“The governor is very interested in this. He’s actively engaged with community leaders and his team,” Aho said. “There is not a final solution in place at this point.”
More detailed information is expected to be announced later this week, state representatives said.
Eisenhour said Monday that, after weeks of pursuing funding sources previously used to repair washouts on the Upper Hoh Road, it became clear that historical funding options were not available.
Some repairs have been funded by the Federal Highway Administration (FHA) and administered through the state Department of Transportation (WSDOT), she said.
Instead, a solution may be possible from the state level after Ferguson learned about the road closure from a recent Seattle Times article, Eisenhour said.
Private match dollars would be needed, Eisenhour said. At the time of Monday’s meeting, about $15,000 had been raised, she added.
There is a deadline of noon today to raise matching funds. Donations for private matching funds should be sent to P.O. Box 1220, Port Townsend, WA 98368. Those donating should specify that the money should go to the Upper Hoh Road repair.
Monte Reinders, Jefferson County’s director of public works, said via email that the county plans to put out a call for bids this week with bids due next week. A lengthy process can be avoided because county commissioners have deemed the work an emergency, he said.
The contract will specify that the work should be completed in April with the goal of opening in May, Reinders said. That could be interrupted by unforeseen permitting issues, he added.
“In the past, we’ve been able to get emergency repair permits in relatively short order,” Reinders said. “We’ve already discussed this situation with both (the state) Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and the Army Corps of Engineers, and currently we do not anticipate any problems getting permits by our early April start date.”
Owned by Jefferson County, the road sees heavy seasonal usage as the only access point to the Hoh Rainforest. The Olympic National Park (ONP) destination counted 176,566 cars passing through the entrance station in 2024, according to numbers provided by ONP.
When, at the end of last week, the county set its board of commissioners agenda to include a meeting with ONP deputy superintendent Kevin Killian, the potential funding source was unknown. As such, Killian learned in real time Monday that the Hoh area would be accessible during the 2025 season.
“That’s so fantastic to hear,” Killian said following a briefing from Eisenhour. “We’re ready to go. We’ve just gotta get the access, then we’ll just get things turned back around and staffed up. Wonderful news, thanks for sharing that, and thanks for all the hard work on it.”
Killian said ONP leaders have been unreasonably confident and had assumed that Jefferson County would find a solution.
“We’ve, of course, buttoned up operations within the Hoh just to protect the assets that were there, but it’s functionally turn-key,” he said.
Anna Matsche, owner of the Hard Rain Cafe on the Hoh Road, said she’s grateful for the progress that has been made.
“It was very exciting to get some of these emails,” she said. “I do have to say, the level of confusion was immense because we’ve heard from two different sources two different numbers.”
Matsche said she first learned about the funding opportunity and the private fundraising requirement in an email from Clallam County.
“Our excitement and our optimism with the $5,000 was immediate. We knew we could do $5,000,” she said. “We have $4,000 in pledges already.”
Later she received an email from Jefferson County and state Rep. Adam Bernbaum’s office saying there was a need to raise $20,000.
“It felt like we had been hit by a load of bricks. We felt hopeless,” Matsche said.
Soon after, Matsche called Glynda Peterson Schaad, who started a gofundme page. The fundraiser has a $20,000 goal.
Schaad announced the gofundme to the Jefferson County Commissioners in public comment on Monday. At the time, it had raised about $500. By late afternoon, it was up to $2,315.
The gofundme page can be found at https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-reopen-hoh-rainforest-road.
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Reporter Elijah Sussman can be reached by email at elijah.sussman@sequimgazette.com.
