Finley Creek Bridge Repaired

Date: November 22, 2006
Contact: Barb Maynes, 360-565-3005

As the autumn storms continue, park crews have succeeded in re-opening several important park roads in time for the holiday weekend.

The Finley Creek bridge along the Quinault North Shore Road, which was heavily damaged during the November 6 storm, reopened today. With both the North Shore and South Shore Roads reopened, access is restored to the entire Quinault Loop.

The Hoh Road and visitor area are closed because of extensive damage along the road. This temporary closure includes the campground, trails, road and other facilities. Park staff and Federal Highways Administration engineers continue to develop options for restoring emergency access across the 75-foot long washout at West Twin Creek.

All park roads are open with the exception of:

• Staircase Road (closed outside the park due to unstable soils caused by this summer’s Bear Gulch 2 Fire)
• Dosewallips Road (closed outside the park boundary because of a washout)
• Deer Park Road is closed for the season.
• Sol Duc Road is closed because of fallen trees and debris on the road.
• Hoh Road remains closed as noted above.
• Queets Road is closed at Matheny Creek because of a slide and washout.
• North Fork Road and Graves Creek Road in the Quinault Valley remain closed because of storm damage.

With nearly four feet of snow on the ground at Hurricane Ridge, the Hurricane Ridge Road is closed today but scheduled to open this weekend, weather permitting. During the winter months, the Hurricane Ridge Road is scheduled to open Friday through Sunday each week, weather permitting, and closed Monday through Thursday.

Olympic’s trail system has not yet been completely assessed and conditions are largely unknown, although numerous down trees and washouts are expected. Anyone planning to hike in the park should be flexible in their plans and come prepared for probable trail damage.

All visitors are urged to use caution when traveling through the park and to come prepared for a variety of weather conditions. For current road information, people should call the Olympic National Park recorded road and weather information line at 360-565-3131.