A $2.3 million contract has been awarded to a Kirkland company to complete the first phase of work on Stevens Canyon Road at Mount Rainier National Park.
Acting Superintendent Randy King announced Monday that the contract was awarded to MidMountain Contractors Inc.
The work will take place on two segments, totaling 10.09 miles, of the 19-mile road. Segment 1 begins at the Nisqually-Paradise Road intersection and extends east for 4.83 miles to the Stevens Creek Bridge. Segment 4 begins at the Backbone Ridge Viaduct, just east of the Backbone Ridge viewpoint, and continues for 5.26 miles to the intersection with state Route 123.
Park officials plan to close the east end of the road Sept. 6. While the contract calls for the work to be done by Oct. 30, park officials said it is possible the road will be closed for the winter rather than reopening.
Visitors will be able to access the Reflection Lakes area, Box Canyon and Backbone Ridge Viewpoint area and adjacent trailheads from the west during the 2011 closure.
The first phase calls for resurfacing, restoration and rehabilitation of the road, including bridges, tunnels, culverts, guard walls, retaining walls, turnouts and the short Wonderland Trail section adjacent to Reflection Lakes.
Ten sites in Segment 1 and 35 sites in Segment 4 have been identified as needing stabilization to prevent roadway embankment creep that has resulted in surface tension cracks and appreciable horizontal and vertical movement, King said.
Two of the sites in Segment 1 require full roadway embankment replacement 22 feet deep. Most of the 35 sites in Segment 4 require either 34-width or full road embankment replacement down to a 5-foot depth.
Under a contract yet to be advertised, Phase 2 is scheduled to take place in 2012 and 2013. That project will include subsurface stabilization work on the west end and require closure from just east of the Paradise Valley Road to the Box Canyon Area immediately following Labor Day 2012 to when the road is shut down for the winter.
The contractor also will be repairing the tunnel walls at milepost 6.9 and 8.5. During this period, visitors will be able to access up to the Box Canyon area from the east.
In 2013, the contractor will focus on drainage improvements, repair/stabilization and reconstruction of historic rock retaining walls, and resurfacing the road.
During the 2011 and 2012 closures, visitors traveling from the east via state Route 410, state Route 123, and/or U.S. 12 who wish to visit the Paradise area have two detour options:
• Via Gifford Pinchot National Forest Service Road 52 (Skate Creek Road) beginning on U.S. 12 in Packwood and ending on state Route 706 east of Ashford.
• Via state Route 7 beginning in Morton on U.S. 12 and ending on state Route 706 at Elbe.
Updated information on this project can be obtained by calling Mount Rainier National Park at 360-569-2166.
Jeffrey P. Mayor: 253-597-8640
jeff.mayor@thenewstribune.com
blog.thenewstribune.com/adventure
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