Sande Balch admits she was a little surprised when she learned state Highway 112 will be closed about six weeks this summer at Jim Creek, a mile east of Pysht.
The state Department of Transportation will close the section of the highway from mid-August through September to install a concrete box culvert to improve salmon passage at Jim Creek.
Balch, Clallam County’s newly hired coordinator for the Highway 112 National Scenic Byways project, worked five years to help bring a scenic byway designation to the highway that runs west of Port Angeles to Neah Bay along the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
Balch jokes about how she learned of the closure: A state transportation employee who will work on the Jim Creek project inquired about reserving a room at Herb’s Motel, which Balch and her husband, Herb, own in Sekiu near the highway.
“Here I am supposed to be coordinator for the scenic byway, and how come I found out about it when somebody with DOT came by?” Balch asks.
Summer detour
What the Highway 112 closure means is travelers wanting to reach Clallam Bay, Sekiu, Neah Bay, Pillar Point, Pysht or Silver King Resort campground, will have to take U.S. Highway 101, then state Highway 113 north to 112, while work is under way.
Motorists will still be able to travel west on Highway 112 from its junction at Highway 101 to Salt Creek, Crescent Bay, Striped Peak, Joyce, Whiskey Creek and to Twin Rivers.
