PORT ANGELES – It has been a busy summer construction season on the Olympic Peninsula as the effects of this past winter’s storms continue to linger on highways in Clallam County.
Several of the Washington State Department of Transportation’s emergency repair projects have wrapped up or will soon be finished.
State Route 112 near Clallam Bay
Contractor crews finished a culvert installation late last week, which is intended to carry water from the hillside underneath the roadway. Crews completed final slide material removal and hillside excavation as well. Final paving took place on Thursday, July 25. That project is now complete.
US 101 South of Forks
Moving farther to the west, construction began in late June to rebuild a washed-out area US 101 a few miles south of Forks near the Clallam-Jefferson county border. Emergency contractor Interwest Construction rebuilt and reinforced the nearby slope and drilled new drains into the hillside. The slide site had been under one-way alternating traffic since mid-November. Work was completed on Aug. 2.
SR 113 at Burnt Mountain Road
Contractor crews are expected to finish this project on Friday, Aug. 5. Work began in June to install a new culvert and stabilize the hillside to allow water to flow properly through the area without a temporary water pump. This aims to prevent water from eroding the highway embankment.
What else is going on in Clallam County?
Completing those three projects helps close the book on one of last winter’s storms, but there are two further emergency projects scheduled for SR 112.
One is expected to begin in August at two locations – Rasmussen Creek (milepost 4.6) and along the Hoko River (milepost 11.4).
- At Rasmussen Creek, contractor crews will rebuild and replace two areas of the embankment, which slid into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Work includes placing various rocks and boulders, as well as ditch and culvert cleaning.
- At the Hoko River site, crews will repair the eroded riverbank. Work includes layering logs with root wads sticking out into the river and then filling the hole with rocks. Crews will also perform landscaping work and replace a guardrail.
These sites were damaged during a January storm. Initially, it was thought WSDOT maintenance crews would be able to fix the sites themselves, but further review determined the damage to be much more extensive, requiring an emergency contract.
The other project, at three sites further east on SR 112 along the Pysht River near milepost 26, is currently in the design phase and is scheduled for construction in 2023. Maintenance crews performed slope repair in April 2022 to help keep the road open while a permanent fix is created.
Real-time traffic information is available on the WSDOT statewide travel map, the WSDOT app and WSDOT regional Twitter account.