PORT ANGELES — Clallam County will close Cedar Park Drive for up to 45 days beginning Tuesday to allow crews to dig a hole for the Deer Park underpass east of Port Angeles.
The closure will affect a 0.1-mile stretch of the residential road near its southern intersection with Buchanan Drive.
During the closure, affected residents will take Buchanan Drive to the north intersection and backtrack to their property.
C’est Si Bon restaurant will not be affected by the temporary closure, which the three county commissioners approved unanimously Tuesday.
Clallam County hired Kent-based Scarsella Brothers Inc. to build a new road that will go underneath U.S. Highway 101 through a pre-cast, concrete-arch tunnel near the scenic overlook at the top of the Morse Creek hill.
Deer Park Loop
The new road, called Deer Park Loop, will connect Deer Park Road on the south side of 101 to Buchanan Drive on the north, eliminating left turns across the four-lane highway from the two existing county roads.
Scarsella Brothers, which also received a state contract to widen the highway west of Sequim and a city contract to replace Lauridsen Boulevard bridge in Port Angeles, has begun excavation on the south side of the highway.
The 45-day closure of Cedar Park Drive between Mileposts 0.05 and 0.15 is needed for earthwork on the north side, Assistant County Engineer Joe Donisi said.
Later in the project, all four lanes of the highway will be detoured onto an adjacent lot for up to 90 days. That phase will likely begin in November.
Once the underpass is installed, the highway will reclaim its existing grade and alignment.
The construction contract for the Deer Park underpass was $4.8 million, about 80 percent of which is covered by the federal government.
Deer Park Loop will have a 10-foot-wide sidewalk to give pedestrians and cyclists a safe way to get across the highway.
Donisi has said the project should be done by the end of next June.
A detailed engineer’s map of Deer Park Loop can be accessed on the Clallam County website at www.clallam.net/roads/DeerParkBids.html. Click on “Sheets 1-20” and scroll to Page 3.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.