FORKS — The major north-south highway servicing the Olympic Peninsula was reduced to a single lane about six miles south of Forks on Friday.
The section of highway on northbound U.S. Highway 101 at milepost 184 has continued to slide toward the nearby Bogachiel River.
Soil movement has plagued the area of Highway 101 for 20 years.
State Department of Transportation geotechnical engineers recommended the lane restriction and are assessing the area to determine what actions will be needed to reopen the roadway.
Maintenance crews instituted flagger-controlled one-way alternating traffic Friday night.
In the next few days, a temporary signal system will be installed that allows one direction of traffic at a time past the approximately 600-foot-long location.
The speed limit is reduced to 25 mph through the area.
After slides occurred last fall, Transportation installed a retaining wall to support the roadway. That wall has shifted and requires repair.
