Lake Crescent Highway 101 will have 4-hour delays beginning Monday, Oct. 30. These delays will occur Monday through Thursday, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and are anticipated to continue until the project shuts down for the winter in late November.
The 4-hour delays will reduce risk to the public and increase productivity by allowing work to occur without traffic present. The 4-hour delays will also allow work to occur in the higher risk zones.
“I appreciate the great inconvenience of 4-hour delays to travelers,” said Olympic National Park Superintendent Sarah Creachbaum. “However, public safety must come first.”
Additional safety measures are now in effect after two recent instances of property damage during rock bolting operations, one involving a failed drill rig anchor bolt. No drilling or repositioning of drilling rigs will take place during periods of traffic movement.
The park’s partner for this project, Western Federal Lands Highway Division, has “a high level of confidence that these new safety procedures will provide for safe public travel through the work zone.”
Rock scaling work was completed during the complete Highway 101 closure September 11-15. The current phase of work on the rockface is referred to as rock bolting. Holes are drilled from five to twenty-five feet into the rock to secure weathered, less stable rock near the surface to structurally sound rock deeper within. Surface rock is then secured to stable rock under tension with surface plate washers and epoxy inside the drilled holes. When complete, this work will significantly mitigate the rockfall hazard in this area.
During the delays, travelers to and from the western side of the peninsula can use SR 112/113 as an alternate route. Highway 101 eastbound from Forks will remain open up to the turn for Barnes Point where Lake Crescent Lodge, Storm King Information Station, NatureBridge, and the trailheads are located. Highway 101 westbound from Port Angeles will be open up to mile marker 232/East Beach Road. The Washington State Department of Transportation will be working during the delay between East Beach Road and the rock bolting zone to complete necessary maintenance. Access for emergency vehicles through the closed area will be coordinated using established communication procedures with the traffic control supervisor.
Construction work will continue during the 4-hour delays on other portions of the project outside the rock bolting area and travelers on Highway 101 at Lake Crescent should continue to expect half-hour delays Monday through Friday during work hours. Traveling in the morning before 7:00 am and after 7:00 pm may help travelers avoid the half-hour delays.
Maps of the area and current project information are available on the park website at http://go.nps.gov/
