PORT ANGELES — State officials had hoped that the U.S. Highway 101 widening project between Port Angeles and Sequim would be all but finished by now.
So did Eric Schwartz, owner of Olympic Restaurant Equipment Inc. and other merchants affected by the $27.1 million effort to widen the highway to four lanes on the 3.5-mile corridor between Kitchen-Dick and Shore roads.
Schwartz, who said he has seen a 70 percent decrease in showroom sales since crews broke ground in January 2013, said the project has been a “real nightmare for everyone that lives adjacent to it and all the businesses on it.”
“I’ve been in contact with several of the businesses — quite a few of them, actually — and we’re all in dire straits,” he said. “It’s debilitating.”
The state Department of Transportation, which hired Scarsella Bros. of Kent as the primary contractor, set a two-year goal of finishing the work by the end of this year.
Although construction is on budget and “contractually” on time, Transportation officials said they’ll need a stretch of good weather next spring or early summer to pave the final lift of asphalt and finish striping.
“We were optimistic,” said Claudia Bingham Baker, Transportation spokeswoman.
“It just didn’t come together as we would have liked.”
Before winter sets in, DOT plans to open the new lanes and second new bridge over McDonald Creek, providing two lanes of travel in both directions for the entire 17-mile drive between Clallam County’s largest cities.
“We’re only a few days away,” Bingham Baker said of the winter configuration.
“We are hoping to get it done as soon as good weather shows up again. . . . It’s important for us to get those other lanes open for the winter.”
The temporary 45 mph speed limit will remain in effect throughout the winter until the smooth, final layer of asphalt is laid.
The speed limit will return to its original 55 mph when the ceremonial ribbon is cut.
Contractors on state projects have a predetermined number of working days to complete a major job, Bingham Baker said.
In the case of the Highway 101 widening project, Scarsella has “plenty of time” to return next year and finish paving under the contract, she said.
“You can’t really call it a delay,” she added.
Reasons for the project missing the target date include bad weather and competition for local subcontractors, Bingham Baker said.
Scarsella Bros. is the same company that built the new Clallam County underpass at Deer Park Road and U.S. Highway 101 east of Port Angeles.
Transportation officials have fielded concerns from three business owners about the widening project.
“We have got a real problem here,” Schwartz said.
“We’re actually getting ready to take legal action and have contacted a couple of the congressmen to see if we can get some support.”
Three signs were raised recently to remind motorists that businesses along the construction zone are open for business.
“We try to maintain business access when we do construction through a retail area,” Bingham Baker said.
Schwartz countered that access to his business at 51 Dryke Road was closed three times without notice last week.
Bingham Baker said the state is aware of Schwartz’s concerns and has addressed the access issue “so it won’t happen.”
Schwartz, who relies on deliveries, said he has lost significant business as a result of the widening project.
He complained about a lack of signs for detour routes, bad lighting and poor lane markings through the construction zone, and the fact that he wasn’t informed the work would take longer than anticipated.
“My biggest issue is the project has been mismanaged,” said Schwartz, who has been denied compensation from the state.
“What about the businesses that aren’t going to be here next year?”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.