SR 112 reopens at Clallam Bay following landslide

March 25, 2022 1:30 am
Starting Monday, March 28, construction begins to reopen SR 112 at Jim Creek. The highway dropped four feet in some areas last November following heavy rains. Detour is available via US 101 and SR 113. Work is expected to last 8 weeks. WSDOT Photo
Starting Monday, March 28, construction begins to reopen SR 112 at Jim Creek. The highway dropped four feet in some areas last November following heavy rains. Detour is available via US 101 and SR 113. Work is expected to last 8 weeks. WSDOT Photo

Temporary detour route using Eagle Crest Way removed

CLALLAM BAY – There is good news to share for Olympic Peninsula travelers between Sappho and Neah Bay.

Washington State Department of Transportation crews reopened State Route 112 at 6 p.m. Monday, March 21 near Clallam Bay to two-way travel. The highway closed on Monday, Nov. 15, 2021, due to a massive landslide and regionwide flooding.

Crews completed paving on Wednesday, March 16. The area is still under active monitoring after the highway settled an additional six inches in the eastbound lane following paving. Workers removed the settled areas and rebuilt the eastbound lane with gravel. The gravel roadway will remain in place while geologists monitor the hillside. Final guardrail installation and slope seeding is planned for the week of March 28. Flaggers will alternate travelers during work activities.

Scarsella Brothers, WSDOT’s emergency contractor, was awarded a $1.3 million contract to clear debris and reopen the vital link which connects the communities of Neah Bay and Clallam Bay to the rest of the Olympic Peninsula. The highway sits on an active slide zone and presents ongoing maintenance challenges for crews each winter season.

Work at milepost 15.8 included:

Rebuilding the highway

Stabilizing the adjacent slope

Drainage repair, erosion control, and seeding the hillside.

WSDOT and Scarsella Brothers also partnered with local public utility crews to complete necessary water main repairs during the closure period.

The Nov. 15 storm that hit western Washington had a significant effect on the Olympic Peninsula, closing US 101 and State Routes 112, 113 and 110 in multiple locations. WSDOT maintenance crews from nearby areas worked around-the-clock to reopen dozens of sites, but the Clallam Bay slide required more extensive design and hydraulic work.

To keep goods and people moving, WSDOT established a temporary detour route using Eagle Crest Way around the slide on Dec. 3, 2021. Eagle Crest Way has been returned to the private property owners and is closed to the traveling public. WSDOT would like to thank travelers, residents, the Makah Tribe, and property owners of Eagle Crest Way for their cooperation and support during this project.

“I am incredibly proud of the professional work completed by our team and relationships we developed throughout this emergency contract,” said WSDOT Project Engineer Dan McKernan. “The community rallied around our crews, and I want to thank the property owners of Eagle Crest Way for working with us during the closure.”

WSDOT engineering geologists have documented significant slide activity every 10-20 years, beginning in 1954. The topographical and geological challenges along SR 112 require a calculated approach to address ongoing drainage, stability, and debris concerns. WSDOT pursued a long-term fix to reopen the highway at Clallam Bay and is conducting similar repairs further east near Jim Creek at milepost 32.

Construction at Jim Creek is expected to begin later this month and reopen late spring 2022 to travelers.

Olympic Peninsula travelers are encouraged to sign up for email updates. Real-time traffic information is available on the WSDOT app and WSDOT regional Twitter account.