CARLSBORG — The southern end of Kitchen-Dick Road will be closed this week to allow crews to pave new lanes for U.S. Highway 101 east of Sequim, the state Department of Transportation announced.
The closure will begin at 7 a.m. today (Monday) and is scheduled to remain in effect through 6 p.m. Friday.
“We’re hoping to get it done earlier,” said Bill Trodahl, construction supervisor with the Transportation Department.
What it affects
The one-week closure will not impact highway traffic or Kirk Road to the south of Kitchen-Dick intersection.
It will affect only about 500 feet of Kitchen-Dick Road from the existing highway to the entrance of the Sequim Pumpkin Patch.
During the closure, motorists are advised to use Carlsborg Road or Old Olympic Highway as alternate routes.
The project is part of the state widening of U.S. Highway 101 from two lanes to four lanes on the 3.5-mile corridor between Kitchen-Dick and Shore roads.
A 32-foot median will separate eastbound and westbound traffic in the final configuration.
The $27.1 million safety project, which broke ground in January 2013, is still on schedule to be completed by the end of this year, Trodahl said.
Scarsella Bros. Inc., the Seattle contractor the state hired for the widening work, will begin paving two new highway lanes on the eastern third of the project area this week.
The new lanes will serve westbound-only traffic in final configuration.
Transportation officials hope to have the new lanes paved, striped and guardrails in place between Kitchen-Dick and Dryke roads in about a month.
At that time, all traffic will be diverted onto the new lanes, and the old lanes will be rebuilt.
The switchover will coincide with a one-week closure of the southern end of Dryke Road for tie-in work. No date for Dryke Road closure has been set.
New bridges
Meanwhile, crews continue to make progress on the second of two new bridges over McDonald Creek.
Drill shafts for the second bridge have been installed, and crews are working on abutments and columns, Trodahl said.
The widening project will provide two lanes of travel in both directions all the way from Port Angeles to Sequim.
During construction, the posted highway speed limit is 45 mph. The speed limit will return to its original 55 mph when the project is complete.
Businesses along the highway remain open during construction.
________
Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
