OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — After a brief reopening, Whiskey Bend Road will be closed again.
The 4.5-mile road that connects Olympic Hot Springs Road to the Whiskey Bend trailhead had been reopened to the public Jan. 11 after it had been closed to vehicles for more than a year following extensive damage caused by winter storms in December 2010.
It will be closed again Tuesday for an estimated four weeks, said Barb Maynes, Olympic National Park spokeswoman.
“Heavy trucks and machinery will be in use, necessitating a full closure to all vehicle and pedestrian entry,” Maynes said.
Barnard Construction Co. crews fixed the worst section of the road at Milepost 1 as part of the company’s dam removal contract.
But now another section of damaged road, which is at Milepost 1.7, must be repaired, Maynes said.
That will done by another contractor.
Cherokee Construction of Vancouver, Wash., has been awarded a contract not to exceed $190,000, with the final cost to be determined once the amount of work needed is known, Maynes said.
At Milepost 1, part of the road surface had caved off to the side and the foundation had been eroded, necessitating road closure, Maynes said.
The damage at Milepost 1.7 was not as severe, with the foundation damaged but not so extensively that road closure was needed, Maynes said.
During repair, the contractor will excavate the damaged portion of the road and replace it.
All areas west of Whiskey Bend Road are closed because of Glines Canyon Dam removal work.
Barnard Construction is demolishing the Glines Canyon and Elwha dams through a $26.9 million contract.
The work is being done as part of the $325 million Elwha River restoration project to return the river to its wild state.
Webcam images of Glines Canyon Dam removal and Lake Mills, as well as work at the Elwha Dam, are available at www.nps.gov/olym.
