OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — Washouts on Graves Creek Road in Quinault Valley created by storms in 2018 and 2017 will be repaired beginning Sept. 3.
All access — including pedestrian — will be blocked for one week beginning Sept. 3 for repair of one of the washouts.
After that, only vehicle access will be prohibited during the next two washout repairs, said Penny Wagner, Olympic National Park spokesperson.
The entire repair project and closure to vehicles is anticipated to last four weeks, with the road scheduled to reopen to all access in early October.
The $140,000 project is funded through the Federal Lands Transportation Program (FLTP) of the Federal Highway Administration, Wagner said.
The Graves Creek Road sustained damage during the last two years of winter storms. While the Graves Creek Road is closed, vehicles will have no access to the Graves Creek Trailhead and Graves Creek Campground.
During the first repair, the road will be completely closed to all entry — including foot, bicycle and stock access — at the intersection of the Quinault North and South Shore roads.
The first repair is anticipated to last one week. During this time, access to Enchanted Valley will be available from trailheads on the park’s east side.
After the first of three repairs is complete, the road will be accessible by foot, bicycle and stock access for the remainder of the work, Wagner said. Parking is limited.
For visitor and employee safety, visitors must ensure they have the attention and permission of the road crew prior to passing through the work zone.
For the final washout repair, the road closure is expected to move from the intersection of the North and South Shore roads to approximately milepost 4. This move of the closure is anticipated for the last week of work. Parking is limited.
Graves Creek Road is a six-mile long gravel road that runs from the intersection of the North and South Shore roads to the Graves Creek trailhead.
Repairs involve the placement of large logs along the length of the embankments, with the logs’ rootwads facing into the stream to encourage the development of fish habitat.
Rock ballast will be placed to secure the logs and prevent buoyancy, and the gravel road will then be rebuilt overtop the logs.
The logs for this project were salvaged from previous projects in the park.
For information about the park, see www.nps.gov/olym.
