Travelers heading east from Sequim can expect delays starting next week, as state crews begin road projects on U.S. highway 101 between Blyn and Gardiner.
The week of July 10, construction crews working for the Washington State Department of Transportation will begin mobilizing equipment into a work zone on the highway between Diamond Point and Chicken Coop Road, and between Guiles Road and Knapp Road at Eagle Creek.
From July until mid-August, travelers will see occasional daytime, one-way alternating traffic on U.S. Highway 101 at milepost 274.2, followed by a week-long around the clock reduction to a single lane.
The work is part of a multi-year project that will correct six culverts under in Clallam and Jefferson counties to improve fish passage and migration in the area.
From 7 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 13 through the evening of Friday, Aug. 18, U.S. Highway 101 will be reduced to one-lane of alternating traffic at the Eagle Creek culvert site. Travelers will want to plan ahead to help prevent delays. With one travel lane closed, drivers will see increased congestion approaching the work zone.
To help reduce backups during this week-long lane reduction, state transportation officials urge travelers to:
• add up to 90 minutes of extra travel time to help prevent delays
• consider postponing discretionary trips
• travel early in the morning or later at night, particularly on Monday, Thursday and Friday
• carpool, use transit or telework if possible
No detour route is available during this work, and signs will be posted for local access only on nearby county roads.
Eagle Creek is the first of six streams or tributaries that crews will correct under U.S. Highway 101 between Gardner and Sequim during the next two years. The $109 million dollar project is anticipated to finish in late 2025.
The work is part of WSDOT’s ongoing effort to remove barriers to fish under state highways. The work removes items such as too-small culverts under roadways to allow fish to move more freely through the area during migration, which helps protect and restore salmon runs, the landscape and the economy, state representatives said.
