Date: May 10, 2017
Contact: Penny Wagner, 360-565-3005
Beginning Monday, Olympic National Park crews will start work on Boulder Creek Trail which begins at the end of the Olympic Hot Springs Road in the Elwha Valley. This project involves the use of heavy equipment for the demolition and removal of the Crystal Creek bridge and installation of an alternate route and creek crossing at that location. For visitor and employee safety, there will be no access above the Glines Canyon Overlook on Olympic Hot Springs Road beginning Monday, May 15, until later this summer.
“Crews will be working as quickly as possible to complete the necessary bridge removal and reopen the area to visitors” said Olympic National Park Acting Superintendent Lee Taylor. “As much as we regret the inconvenience, this project will ultimately restore safe access on Boulder Creek Trail for hikers and stock use.”
Damage caused by a rockfall event in the winter of 2014-2015 led to the closure of the Crystal Creek bridge. Since then, further erosion has led to increased destabilization. Inspection by Federal Highways geotechnical and structural engineers last June determined the bridge was unsafe for pedestrian and stock use.
The Olympic Hot Springs Road will remain open up to the Glines Canyon Spillway Overlook for the duration of the project. Whiskey Bend Road is open all the way to the trailhead.
For current road and travel information, visitors should consult the park website at www.nps.gov/olym or call the recorded Road and Weather Hotline at 360-565-3131.
About the National Park Service.
More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America’s 417 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov.
