June, July closures set at Railroad Bridge

The historic Dungeness Railroad Bridge will be closed for a three-day period this month (June 6-8) and for an extended period later this summer (July 18-Oct. 18) as part of restoration and reconfiguration projects at Railroad Bridge Park and Dungeness River floodplain.

The project includes extending Railroad Bridge to the new Dungeness River Nature Center, the popular education and culture center slated to reopen to the public on Thursday, July 7.

For those two periods, a detour route will have trail users take North Kendall Road to Old Olympic Highway, then west to Heath Road, and finally south on Heath until it reconnects with the trail just shy of East Runnion Road.

Floodplain restoration activities include removing the old levee south of the bridge and removing the parking lot and access road to the north.

Representatives with the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe say there are a number of benefits to the project including:

• restoration of important and productive salmon habitat

• long-term reduction of flood hazards for the Dungeness River Nature Center and Olympic Discovery Trail

• providing a learning opportunity on the importance of floodplain restoration

• improved accessibility for this stretch of the Olympic Discovery Trail

For more information, call 360-681-4076, visit dungenessriver.org or see olympicdiscoverytrail.org.