Date: August 24, 2017
Contact: Penny Wagner, 360-565-3005
PORT ANGELES, WA: The first planned four-hour delay on Highway 101 at Lake Crescent is scheduled for Thursday September 7, 2017 from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm. During this four-hour period, Highway 101 eastbound will be open to the turn for Barnes Point where Lake Crescent Lodge, Storm King Information Station, NatureBridge, and the trailheads are located. Highway 101 westbound will be closed near mile marker 229 where the current rock scaling operation is underway.
Travelers should plan ahead to drive through the construction zone before 9:00 am or wait until after 1:00 pm. Due to heavy truck traffic, a pilot car will lead all traffic on Highway 101 between mile marker 225 and 228 (located west of Barnes Point) during this four-hour period and travelers should expect 15-30 minute delays.
Limited four-hour delays can occur Monday through Thursday from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm beginning after Labor Day. These four-hour delays will be announced at least 2 weeks in advance. Additional four-hour delays are anticipated for the week of September 11.
Maps of the area and access information are available on the park website at www.nps.gov/olym/planyourvisit/lake-crescent-highway-101-rehabilitation-2017-19.htm.
Travelers on Highway 101 around Lake Crescent should continue to expect half-hour delays Monday through Friday during work hours. Weekday work hours from April 1 through September 23 are restricted to two hours after sunrise to two hours before sunset. Traveling in the morning before 8:00 am and after 6:00 pm can help travelers avoid the half-hour delays. After work hours and on weekends expect short delays for alternating single-lane traffic controlled by temporary traffic signals.
East Beach Road
East Beach Road has reopened to through traffic now that the replacement of the Log Cabin Creek culvert is complete. The new culvert allows for fish passage.
Paving operations on East Beach Road are scheduled to begin after Labor Day.
On September 6, paving patches will begin between the Lyre River Trailhead for the Spruce Railroad Trail and the intersection of Joyce-Piedmont and East Beach Roads. There will be limited access between 8:30 am and 6:30 pm. Travelers should expect 30 to 60-minute delays.
On September 7, paving operations between the Lyre River Trailhead for the Spruce Railroad Trail and the intersection of Joyce-Piedmont and East Beach Roads will restrict access to the area from 8:30 am to 11:00 am. Following this period, paving patches will begin on East Beach Road with 30-minute delays until 6:30 pm.
East Beach Road paving patches will continue during work hours on Friday, September 8 with 30-minute delays.
A general outline of this year’s construction schedule for U.S. Highway 101 is provided below.
Now-Labor Day (summer season)
- Half‐hour delays during weekday work hours, with short delays after-hours to accommodate alternating single lane traffic.
After Labor Day-Mid November
- Half‐hour delays during weekday work hours, with short delays after-hours to accommodate alternating single lane traffic.
- Limited four‐hour delays (from 9:00am – 1:00pm Mondays through Thursdays only) and six‐hour overnight delays (10:00pm – 4:00am Mondays through Wednesdays only) may be scheduled and must be announced two weeks in advance.
Mid November—Mid March
The schedule and updated information are available on the Olympic National Park website at
www.nps.gov/olym/planyourvisit/lake-crescent-highway-101-rehabilitation-2017-19.htm and the Federal Highway Administration website at
https://flh.fhwa.dot.gov/projects/wa/lake-crescent/.
East Beach Road was built between 1911 and 1925 and provides access to private residences, Log Cabin Resort and several popular day use areas. East Beach Road links Highway 101 and Highway 112 and serves as a bypass route around the lake. In 2015, approximately 67,600 vehicles used East Beach Road.
The road along Lake Crescent’s south shore was built in the early 1920s, replacing ferry passage across the lake. Today the road is part of U.S. Highway 101 and remains a vital transportation link and popular sightseeing route for visitors to the Lake Crescent area and the Olympic Peninsula. In 2015, over 420,000 vehicles traveled this road.
www.nps.gov
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