All pedestrian, vehicle and bike access to the Hoh Rainforest in Olympic National Park has been restricted indefinitely after a months-long delay in repairing a washed out road.
In late December, significant rainfall caused a swell in the Hoh River. The river runs adjacent to Upper Hoh Road, the only road that provides access to the Hoh Rainforest. When the river reached 10 times its normal flow, the road lost “several feet of bank/shoulder, segments of highway barrier, and at least one large tree” at milepoint 9.7, according to Jefferson County.
Since then, additional erosion has led to further loss of the roadway, but a large spruce that has fallen is now acting as a barrier and helping protect the affected area.
Hopeful visitors to the Hoh Rainforest who booked campsites up until June reported receiving emails alerting them they may need to change or cancel their plans.
Why the delay?
This isn’t the first time the Upper Hoh Road has been washed out and needed repair. Typically, repairs only take a matter of weeks, Jefferson County Public Works Director Monte Reinders told SFGate.
So what’s different this time?
The road, which is maintained by Jefferson County, will cost an estimated $1.3 million to repair — money the county doesn’t have, Eric Kuzma, the county’s assistant public works director, told Axios.
Repairs on Upper Hoh Road have traditionally qualified as a special case for federal funding because the road is primarily used by visitors to the national park. But that federal funding is yet to be released for this project. Once federal assistance is granted, the county could fix the road “within a month,” Kuzma said.
“The longer [the funding process] goes, the more expensive it will get as the washout grows in size,” Reinders told SFGate.
Visitors to the Hoh Rain Forest support local economies in Jefferson and Clallam counties, Kuzma said, which is part of why local officials continue to push to get the road reopened.
