Forks Area Flood Damage & Road Closure Updates

FS Rd 2900_Failing road due to water and tree damage. Milepost 2.8

FS Rd 2900_Road washout at milepost 10.6

FS Rd 2900_Water and debris over the road at milepost 11

FS Rd 2900_Complete washout at milepost 33.9

FS Rd 2922_Water, mud, and debris over the road. Milepost .2

FS Rd 3000_Road washout and culvert failure at milepost 10.02

FS Rd 3000_Complete road washout at milepost 10.5

FS Rd 2300_Boulder in the middle of the road (47.39589, 123.31420)

FS Rd 2300_Small slide covering a portion of the road (47.37420,123.48384)

Significant weather events leave lasting impacts. In November 2021, a massive category 5 atmospheric river event dropped over 10 inches of rainfall over 24 hours across the Olympic National Forest. The Forks area, already saturated from persistent storms, was heavily impacted. Increased runoff from the event triggered multiple debris flows and washouts causing more than 10 major Forest Service Road damaged areas. In some locations, remaining asphalt is not adequate to support pedestrian or motor vehicle traffic, and some stretches of road have been completely washed out. Initial damages were estimated at 5 million dollars requiring a minimum of 2 years of repair work.

Repairs on FSR-29 are a high priority for the Olympic National Forest. Since then, additional flooding events and heavy rainfall and snow, and unforeseen circumstances have been a challenge to make significant progress on FSR-29. Despite certain portions of the road reopening, other portions of the road remain closed and in need of further repairs. These repairs are a high priority for the Forest, as FSR-29 is a gateway for recreational opportunities, business, partners, and community needs, as well as an ingress/egress route connecting the Forks area with the rest of the peninsula.

We’ve made progress, but more work remains. While the Forest has received $1.7 million dollars in supplemental disaster relief funding to restore temporary access along FSR-29, portions of the road remain closed to the public and additional funding and work is required to complete permanent repairs that will allow the road to withstand the impacts of increasingly severe weather and flooding events.

Planning for the future, increasing resiliency. Facing the inevitable reality that storms continue to increase in severity and frequency due to climate change, the Forest is working with local, county, local, and federal partners such as the Federal Highway Administration to not only return FSR-29 to an accessible state, but to reinforce, strengthen, and upsize culverts to increase resiliency and improve drainage systems to lessen damage from future floods.

When culverts failed in 2021, they were sized to withstand a 100-year flood event but were not designed to pass heavy debris which accumulated and plugged culvert inlets due to the severity of the flooding. This highlights the need to upsize culverts to the full width of the bank, to allow for passage of debris and accommodate predicted increases in streamflow due to climate change.

To complete this work, the forest has been approved for additional Emergency Relief for Federally Owned Roads (ERFO), which the forest should receive during the next funding cycle.

What do our next steps look like? Repairs are scheduled in a phased approach to maintain maximum access for local community members, partners, tribes, and other user groups to sites along the FSR-29. Federal partners will begin designs for improved culverts and drainage systems Spring 2023 with construction anticipated to begin in years to follow. Find current closures, repair progress, and other status updates below.

Closed Roads:

Forest Service Road 29 - (Sitkum-Solduc Rd / “A” Road) – Closed between mile posts 10.6 and 33.9
Forest Service Road 2922 - Closed after mile post 5.1 until the junction with FSR-29