PORT ANGELES — Night time traffic will be slowed this week on U.S. Highway 101 just east of Port Angeles as workers widen the highway at the entrance to a Walmart Supercenter department store and supermarket now under construction.
Drivers should expect single-lane closures on both directions of Highway 101 between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. Monday through Friday at the highway’s intersection with North Masters Road.
The regional Walmart center is expected to open Oct. 27.
Workers next week also will restripe the highway and install a water line and traffic lights.
Night time work is all that is allowed the contractor since work in the daytime earlier this month caused a two-mile traffic backup.
Although this week’s night time work already had been planned, “after that big backup, the developer was told no more roadway work during the day,” said Kelly Stowe, state Department of Transportation spokeswoman, on Friday.
The highway — which is the only route in and out of east Port Angeles — was reduced to one lane in each direction between 10 a.m. and noon on Aug. 2, with drivers reporting traffic backed up as far west as McDonald’s in Port Angeles and as far east as Lake Farm Road.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is replacing its current store at 3500 E. U.S. Highway 101 with a larger version across the highway at 3471 E. Kolonels Way.
The supercenter will be a larger department store with a supermarket and specialty shops.
After the new store opens, Wal-Mart hopes to sell its old store and its 19-acre lot.
The new store will have up to 350 employees, including current workers who will transfer to the supercenter, plus 85 new hires.
Boise, Idaho-based Engineered Structures Inc. is the general contractor for the $14 million project, which is in unincorporated Clallam County territory outside of the Port Angeles city limit.