PORT ANGELES — After two years of construction, the Elwha Valley Road is nearing completion.

Ninety percent of the road, which will be the primary access route to the Lower Elwha Klallam reservation, has been finished and about 3,450 feet remains to be paved, said Carol Brown, the tribe’s economic development manager.

Paving is dependent on the weather, and Brown said the work may not be completed until February or later.

The road will stretch from Kacee Way on the hill south of the tribe’s reservation down to Stratton Road, which it will meet near the casino and fish hatchery.

The new road crosses a ravine and follows an 8.5 percent grade to the top of the hill.

It will be 34 feet wide,

including shoulders.

The $9 million federal project, which included the widening of Stratton Road, is needed to increase safety, reduce response time for emergency vehicles and provide the tribe with an adequate evacuation route during a tsunami or other natural disasters, Brown said.

The only access to the reservation at the mouth of the Elwha River now is the narrow Lower Elwha Road.

Although the road is two lanes, it lacks shoulders.

“If a car breaks down [during an emergency], who gets out?” Brown asked while pointing to the road.

That road will remain.

The Elwha Valley Road also will connect the Olympic Discovery Trail, which has a gap between Dry Creek and the Elwha River Road bridge.

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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.