PORT TOWNSEND — Construction has begun on a long-awaited Discovery Bay section of the Olympic Discovery Trail, which will bring the trail one step closer to its connection point with the Larry Scott Trail in Port Townsend.

Construction started in mid-May on the three-quarter-mile section of trail that will run from Salmon Creek to Old Gardiner Road along U.S. Highway 101.

The Jefferson County Public Works Department accepted a bid for $987,654 from Interwest Construction Inc. of Burlington, according to a press release from the department.

The project will be entirely funded through Federal Transporation Enhancement funds and the state Recreation and Conservation Office, which has funded a number of Olympic Discovery Trail sections in both Jefferson and Clallam counties, according to Public Works.

The Peninsula Trails Coalition, a local nonprofit, also helped the county secure grants for the project and contributed $50,000, the Public Works release stated.

The project will be completed in two sections. The first section of trail segment, to the north, parallels the highway as it heads north and will be constructed on sloping road embankment.

According to Public Works, Interwest is currently clearing vegetation on the north section, but in order to create a flat surface for the paved trail it will be built along reinforced earth retaining walls and a soldier pile wall, both of which need to be built.

Starting July 9, a short section of Old Gardiner Road is expected to be closed at the intersection with Highway 101 for roughly three weeks while the soldier pile wall is being built.

The second section of the trail segment follows an old railroad grade and will be the easier of the two because it has less vegetation and won’t need much grading because it is already a mostly flat surface.

The completed trail section will have a 10-foot wide paved surface with 2-foot gravel shoulders and grades not exceeding 5 percent, which is in accordance with state and federal standards, according to Public Works.

The trail marks the final phase of a restoration project along south Discovery Bay, which was performed in cooperation with Public Works and the North Olympic Salmon Coalition.

The coalition completed its portion of the project in 2014. The coalition was responsible for removing the abandoned railroad to make way for the new paved trail and restoring 11 acres of salt marsh along Snow Creek.

The next section for the trail slated for construction in Jefferson County is another three-quarter-mile segment that will connect the new south Discovery Bay section to the Larry Scott Trail. However, there has been no information released on the timeline of that project.

The Olympic Discovery Trail project currently has sections in Clallam and Jefferson counties and, once completed, is expected to provide a 126-mile route from Port Townsend to the Pacific Coast near La Push, according to the Public Works press release.

It is also part of a larger congressionally designated national scenic trail known as the Pacific Northwest Trail, which begins in Montana.

Maps and information about the Olympic Discovery Trail are available at http://olympicdiscoverytrail.com/trail_maps.html.

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Jefferson County Editor/Reporter Cydney McFarland can be reached at 360-385-2335, ext. 55052, or at cmcfarland@peninsuladailynews.com.