PORT ANGELES — The state Department of Transportation will begin setting girders this fall for the new Elwha River Bridge, which will cause 30-minute delays, DOT Olympic Region Administrator Steve Roark told the Clallam County commissioners.
“There’s lots underway at the Elwha River Bridge,” Roark said during the commissioners’ Monday work session. “It has served us well, but the community will embrace the new bridge and be very happy.”
Fall 2024 is probably when DOT will do the cut-ins to Olympic Hot Springs Road, which will require a detour to state Route 112 for up to nine days, Roark said.
“The dates are not firmed up. There’s more to come. We will be doing outreach,” he said.
Roark said the Elwha River Bridge replacement project is the largest DOT has under contract in Clallam County.
The $32.5 million replacement project has been a priority for the state since 2016, when it was discovered the Elwha River, after it had been released from two dams by 2014, had eaten away at the riverbed under the piers.
The three-span concrete bridge will be built to the north of the existing bridge. The old bridge will continue to serve highway traffic during construction.
The new two-lane bridge will have a more gentle approach on the east side of the river and a wider road surface with 12-foot lanes and 8-foot shoulders on both sides.
Olympic Hot Springs Road will get a new intersection east of the bridge with better sightlines, illumination and dedicated turn lanes from the highway.
The new span will be 502 feet long and 40 feet wide. It will have room for Clallam Transit bus stops and a parking area for river access.
Roark also gave an update on the U.S. Highway 101/Simdars Bypass, another large project.
The nearly $30 million project will complete the interchange, build a frontage road from Simdars to Happy Valley roads in Sequim and realign the roadway with Palo Alto Road in both the 2023-2025 and 2025-2027 bienniums, he said.
Roark said the interchange has been promoted as an economic development project, but it’s also a safety enhancement project. The studies are done, now the engineering needs to be done and property rights need to be acquired, he said.
The Simdars Road interchange was originally set for completion with the opening of the 4.6-mile U.S. Highway 101 bypass in August 1999, but the eastbound off-ramp was left incomplete due to a lack of funds.
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Reporter Brian Gawley can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55650, or at brian.gawley@peninsuladailynews.com.
