PORT ANGELES — A project to install a fish passage at Tumwater Creek in Port Angeles is now expected to close U.S. Highway 101 for 80 days, down from the nine-month timeline previously projected by the state Department of Transportation.
“(Kiewit Infrastructure West) is ambitious and they have committed to accomplishing the bridge constriction in 80 days,” said Piper Petit, a project engineer with DOT. “The intention is still to have the road back open before Memorial Day.”
Speaking to a meeting of the Port Angeles Business Association on Tuesday, Petit said construction on the Tumwater project is scheduled to begin in January 2025. The project will close down a portion of Highway 101 through Port Angeles, redirecting traffic through the downtown area.
Eastbound traffic on Highway 101 will be redirected off the roadway at the Tumwater Truck Route and westbound traffic will be stopped just past Lauridsen Boulevard, Petit said.
The Tumwater project is just one of dozens of fish passage projects on the North Olympic Peninsula currently being worked on by DOT due to a 2013 federal injunction that found the state has a duty to remove barriers to fish migration.
Under the injunction, the state has until 2030 to remove 90 percent of blocked habitat, and as of 2023, DOT had corrected more than 115 culverts throughout western Washington.
Several fish barrier projects are scheduled for this summer on Highway 101 south of Forks, and will limit traffic to one lane to be controlled by a temporary signal in each direction.
Contractor crews began construction of a temporary bridge on Highway 101 at the Clallam and Jefferson county line south of Forks this week.
Once the temporary bridge is completed, traffic will be diverted onto it to allow for the replacement of an outdated culvert on May Creek with a 175-foot bridge. The bridge is expected to be completed in fall 2026.
Replacement projects also are planned for Lees and Ennis creeks, and Petit said the winning contracts for those projects have said they can limit road closures to 20 days.
A series of fish passage projects are scheduled for state Highway 112, which will require detours to other routes. While the department has made good progress on fish passage projects on the North Olympic Peninsula, Petit said construction work will likely continue in the region up to 2030 and maybe even later, based on the department’s work schedule.
Bridges
Work on replacing the Elwha Bridge on Highway 101 west of Port Angeles is continuing, and all three spans of the bridge have been installed, according to Brian Whitehouse, assistant construction engineer with DOT. Concrete will be poured in the coming weeks.
The old bridge remains open to traffic but will be closed for nine days in mid-June as ties to the ends of the bridge are constructed. Traffic will be detoured onto Highway 112, Whitehouse said.
The Hood Canal Bridge also is scheduled for additional maintenance this summer, some involving overnight closures — but no weekend closures — between May and June. Whitehouse said DOT is currently working with the contractor to develop an hourly schedule.
Work on the bridge last summer was initially scheduled to close the bridge for several weekends, prompting concerns from local communities about the impacts on the local economy, particularly the tourism industry. DOT eventually reworked the schedule so that work and closures happened overnight, and Whitehouse said the department is following the same model for this year’s work.
Roundabouts
Construction on two roundabouts west of the Hood Canal Bridge are set to begin this year and will require traffic to be detoured off state Highway 104. Roundabouts are being installed on Highway 104 at the intersection with Shine and Paradise Bay roads and at the intersection with state Highway 19.
Those projects are expected to close a portion of State Route 19 for 21 days between May 1 and June 15, Whitehouse said.
DOT is looking at installing roundabouts on Highway 101 between Port Angeles and Sequim, Petit said, although those projects are still in the planning phases.
“It’s not much more than an idea at the moment,” Petit said of the roundabouts, and noted there will be opportunities for public feedback before those projects move forward.
Information and updates on DOT’s projects are available at the department’s website, wsdot.wa.gov, and real-time updates on closures and road conditions can be found on DOT’s social media.
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Reporter Peter Segall can be reached at peter.segall@peninsuladailynews.com.
