PORT ANGELES — Getting across the Elwha River on the newly christened, double-deck Elwha River bridge is easy for both drivers and pedestrians and bicyclists.
Getting from the $19.7 million span to Port Angeles is more tricky for those on foot or two wheels.
Pedestrian access to the bridge from Port Angeles takes the Olympic Discovery Trail on the old Milwaukee Railroad grade, a gravel road that will eventually be paved from Lower Elwha Road and Kacee Way just west of the city limit.
The gravel road is closed during business hours on weekdays because it’s being used by Olympic National Park contractor DelHur Construction for hatchery improvements on the river.
Large construction trucks and machinery are using the road from Monday through Friday until 5 p.m.
“While the bridge is open, the east side trail from the bridge to Lower Elwha Road is not always open for public use,” said Rich James, Clallam County Transportation Program manager.
“Many people are attempting to ride across the bridge and up the trail on the east side of the bridge to Lower Elwha Road.”
Cyclists, joggers and pedestrians can take Kacee Way to Lower Elwha Road after 5 p.m. or on weekends when the contractor is not working.
Cyclists on road deck
At least for now, the best option for cyclists is to ride on the automobile deck and bypass the Olympic Discovery Trail altogether.
“This condition will continue until the end of November when major construction work at the hatchery is expected to be complete,” James said.
The new bridge has an 85-foot-high automobile deck that spans 589 feet across a scenic gorge where the old Warren truss bridge stood from 1914 to 2007.
Hundreds of people attended an opening ceremony for the new bridge — the largest bridge project in Clallam County history outside of Port Angeles — on Sept. 25.
A pedestrian path is suspended by cables beneath the automobile desk.
The bridge has become a signature segment of the Olympic Discovery Trail, which will soon connect Puget Sound to the Pacific Ocean from Port Townsend to LaPush.
The public can access the pedestrian deck of the Elwha River Bridge by parking on the shoulder of Elwha River Road just west of the bridge, where you can access a switchback of the Olympic Discovery Trail.
“Only very limited parking is available on the west side shoulder of Elwha River Road, but no one should block the white gate on the side access road that leads down to the river on the west side of the bridge as that road [Sampson Road] is being used by the construction contractors,” James said.
The other option is taking Crown Z Water Road down to the river’s floodplain on the east side of the river.
Clallam County is building a staircase from the floodplain to the river to the pedestrian path. Construction will begin in about a week, James said.
The staircase will be done a week later.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.