OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — Two Olympic National Park roads await repairs months after the raging rivers that damaged them have returned to their usual levels.
Mora Road will remain open as a one-lane road for the foreseeable future, and Olympic Hot Springs Road repairs are awaiting permits to begin the installation of a new bridge to span a washed-out section of road, said Rainey McKenna, spokeswoman for Olympic National Park.
“It was one of the wettest winters on record,” McKenna said Thursday.
She said both roads are located alongside rivers that have protected fish species, making repairs more complicated because of permitting issues.
Mora Road
Mora Road, the only access to Rialto Beach, north of La Push, was closed ahead of a predicted severe storm March 9, and when crews checked the area after the storm, they found the road had been undermined by the Quillayute River, she said.
McKenna said park crews determined the eastbound lane was not safe, but the westbound lane could still be used, and it was reopened to one lane of traffic.
It will remain a one-lane road until engineers and state Fish and Wildlife officials determine how to repair the road with minimal impact to fish in the Quillayute River, she said.
Olympic Hot Springs Road
Olympic Hot Springs Road, along with access along the Elwha River to the Glines Canyon overlook, remains closed.
McKenna said the park service has purchased a bridge for a long-term temporary repair of the 60-foot section that was washed out during a flood.
The road is closed at the park gate at Madison Falls, 1 mile north of the washout.
The park initially planned to complete the temporary repair in time for Memorial Day weekend at the end of May.
However, the park does not yet have the necessary permits to work in a waterway.
“We hope to complete the process soon,” McKenna said.
Once the park has the permits in place, it will take four to six weeks to built footers and install the bridge, she said.
Elwha floods
A flood Nov. 17 reactivated a long-dry river channel behind the Elwha Campground, obliterating a section of Olympic Hot Springs Road and inundating the campground with silt and debris.
A second flood Dec. 8 and Dec. 9 caused additional damage to both the road and campground.
In February, a temporary pedestrian trail was built to bypass the washed out road, allowing hikers and bicyclists to access to the Elwha Valley trails, including the Glines Canyon overlook and the Olympic Hot Springs.
Park officials have said long-term repairs to the road will be part of a planned large-scale rehabilitation of the aging visitor infrastructure of Elwha Valley roads, trails and campgrounds.
Park planners expect to begin taking public comment and complete environmental studies on the project in a year or two, after which the park will complete the work, she said.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
