The contracting process for rehabilitation of 12 miles of the Lake Crescent section of Highway 101 and four miles of East Beach Road at Olympic National Park in Washington state remains under way, so this spring’s construction schedule has been adjusted. Construction is now slated to begin in late April this year. This project is being managed collaboratively by the Federal Highway Administration and the National Park Service.

Forty-five vendors are listed as “interested vendors,” with Tuesday the deadline for responses. The cost is estimated to be more than $20 million. Bid opening is anticipated on Tuesday, with construction to begin approximately April 27.

“We look forward to being able to share additional details once a contractor has been selected,” said Olympic Superintendent Sarah Creachbaum. “In the meantime, however, we can affirm the basic schedule information.”

The contract includes a number of requirements aimed at minimizing impacts to travelers and area residents. For example, the contractor is required to immediately open the road to emergency vehicles without delay at all times throughout the project. Additional specific information will be released after the contract is awarded.

Further, the construction schedule will vary throughout the season to reduce impacts to the public while still allowing safe and efficient road work. Work will occur on weekdays only and will not be scheduled on holidays or weekends.

An outline of the yearly schedule for Highway 101 is provided below.

April-Late May

· Half‐hour delays during work hours, with short delays after-hours to accommodate alternating single lane traffic.

· Limited four‐hour delays may be scheduled (9 a.m.-1 p.m. only) and must be announced two weeks in advance.

Memorial Day-Labor Day (summer season)

· Half‐hour delays during work hours, with short delays after hours to accommodate alternating single-lane traffic.

Early September-Mid-November

· Half‐hour delays during work hours, with short delays after-hours to accommodate alternating single-lane traffic.

· Limited four‐hour delays (9 a.m.-1 p.m. only) and six‐hour overnight delays (10 p.m.–4 a.m. only) may be scheduled and must be announced two weeks in advance.

Mid November-February

· No construction anticipated

March (2018 and 2019 only)

· Half‐hour delays during work hours, with short delays after-hours to accommodate alternating single-lane traffic.

· Limited four‐hour delays and six‐hour overnight delays may be scheduled and will be announced two weeks in advance.

No more than 20 four‐hour delays are permitted each spring and each fall. Four‐hour delays may only be implemented between Labor Day and Memorial Day and only between the hours of 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. Emergency vehicles will have access without delay at all times. The contractor will receive monetary incentives for limiting the number of four‐hour delays.

Overnight delays lasting up to six hours are permitted between Labor Day and March 31. All six‐hour delays may occur only from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. and may only occur on Mondays through Wednesdays. Emergency vehicles will have access without delay at all times.

All four‐hour and six‐hour overnight delays must be scheduled and announced two weeks in advance. Notices will be sent to area media outlets, widely distributed via the Washington State Department of Transportation traffic alert webpage and posted on the Olympic National Park website.

Repairs to the East Beach Road will be completed during the 2017 construction season, with work completed by November 18. East Beach Road will close to through traffic for a maximum two‐week period to replace one culvert. This closure will include one weekend and will occur between August 1 and October 31 and will be scheduled and announced in advance. Monetary incentive is offered to the contractor for reducing the length of the closure.

East Beach Road was built between 1911 and 1925 and provides access to private residences, Log Cabin Resort, and several popular day use areas and links Highway 101 and Highway 112 and as a bypass route around the lake. In 2015, approximately 67,600 vehicles used East Beach Road.

The road along Lake Crescent’s south shore was built in the early 1920s, replacing ferry passage across the lake. Today the road is part of U.S. Highway 101 and remains a vital transportation link and popular sightseeing route for visitors to the Lake Crescent area and the Olympic Peninsula. In 2015, over 420,000 vehicles traveled this road.