Clallam County took our board on a tour of three project sites in various stages of construction utilizing the RAP Program as well as the impressive Elwha River Bridge, serving pedestrians and cyclists along the Olympic Discovery Trail.
The Clallam County Road Department maintains 488 miles of roads and 34 bridges connecting 1,750 square miles of Clallam County with a $4.5 million annual maintenance budget and $3 million annual road reconstruction budget. The road system includes 485 miles of paved roads and 3 miles of gravel roads. Major road reconstruction is performed by private contractors with the engineering staff providing the design, contract writing, and inspection of the work. The department works closely with the Peninsula Regional Transportation Planning Organization to ensure that the County's road and trail system is well planned, has adequate funding from sources outside the County and that the system provides efficient connections to other transportation providers.
Dry Creek Road
Type | 3R Construction Status | Construction Complete, Project Not Yet Archived Funding | $1.04 Million from RAP
Dry Creek Road serves an important role as a through route, connecting the Elwha Klallam Tribal Reservation to US 101 via Edgewood Drive. With traffic continuing to change and increase, the road required a more intensive 3R improvement project. The alignment of the road is relatively straight, so significant changes to the horizontal and vertical alignment were unnecessary. Select areas of the narrow road were widened from 20 feet to 28 feet. The roadway was constructed with 9” of gravel base, 3” of crushed surfacing top course and 2” of hot mix asphalt. The project provided safety improvements, including slope flattening for steep ditches and new surfacing; signage and paint striping were updated to current standards.
Edgewood Drive
Type | 3R Construction Status | Early Design Funding | $2.4 million from RAP
The stretch of Edgewood Drive from Rife Road to Reddick Road is a primary east-west route serving the western Port Angeles area as the only alternate route to US 101 in the vicinity. Improvements to the heavily-used road will complement the improvements to Dry Creek Road and Laird Road, which both connect directly with Edgewood. Primary work will be to widen the road from 28 feet to 34 feet, straighten the horizontal alignment to reduce undesirable curvature, minor changes to the vertical alignment, and added turn lane(s) at Lower Elwha Road and Dry Creek Road, as necessary. The subgrade will need to be constructed for long term stability. The roadway is currently Bituminous Surface Treatment; an HMA overlay will provide greater structural capacity. The improvements will provide a safer driving corridor for the growing western Port Angeles area.
Laird Road
Type | 2R Construction Status | Completed in 2020, Fully Reimbursed Funding | $495,000 from RAP
The stretch of Laird Road from Power Plant Road to Edgewood Drive is a major north-south route serving the western Port Angeles area between Edgewood Drive and US 101. Over time, the heavily traveled road has been widened in areas for safety. The road was due for a 2R construction project to provide pavement repair, HMA overlay and pavement markings for a safer travel surface and shoulders. 2R projects are an effective method to extend the useful life of the road at a fraction of the expense of more intensive improvements typical of 3R projects.
Elwha River Bridge
Type | Replacement Status | Construction Completed in 2009 Funding | $19.7 million
Built in 2007, the bridge replaced a 1914 one lane, steel-truss bridge on the National Register of Historic Places closed to traffic due to advanced deterioration. The complex project required confronting steep rock banks, flooding, and environmental constraints. Design of the replacement bridge included a main vehicular structure and a separate pedestrian and bicycle deck. The main structure is 589 feet long and features cast-in-place concrete box girders built using the balanced cantilever and cast-on-falsework construction methods. The cantilever technique minimized disturbances to sensitive environmental areas along the river. Specialized rock-grinding equipment was used on the rocky knoll and embankment in addition to conventional excavation methods.
Pictured Below: Clallam County Engineer Joe Donisi, PE; WSACE Managing Director Axel Swanson, Chair Rob Coffman, Second Vice-Chair Lindsey Pollock, Board Member Peter Browning, Board Member Doug McCormick, PE; Board Member Eric Pierson, PE; Board Member Art Swannack; Board Member Carolina Meija; Executive Director Jane Wall; Deputy Director Drew Woods, PE; Executive Assistant Jason Bergquist; Communications Director Jacque Netzer; Grant Programs Manager Steve Johnson, PE; Road Systems Inventory Manager Mike Clark; IT Security Engineer Scott Campbell and Jill Swannack.
