PORT ANGELES — Clallam County leaders are moving ahead on a roughly $2 million road project near the Dungeness Recreation Area — but one piece of it is drawing sharp pushback from neighbors.
County Road Engineer Joe Donisi told county commissioners the work is funded through the Federal Lands Access Program, or FLAP — a grant aimed at roads that provide access to federal sites, like the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge.
“It replaced the Forest Highway Program from years ago. I don’t know if you’re familiar with that, but it was a federal program for county roads that were designated as highways. They remade that program to cover federal lands, not just forest lands. So here we have that status — federal wildlife area,” Donisi told County Commissioners.
County Engineer One Jesse Goodman outlined three parts of the project. The biggest: relocating part of Voice of America Road away from a coastal bluff that’s eroding — in some places leaving the road about 15 feet from the edge.
“The current alignment of the road is, at some points, about 15 feet from the bluff. And I think, by most metrics, we’re at about a foot and a half of erosion a year on average. So that bluff realignment segment is kind of the part everyone is concerned with,” said Goodman.
The third — and most controversial — would smooth out a tight 90-degree curve near Kitchen-Dick Road and Lotzgesell Road. Residents at a recent public meeting raised concerns it could encourage speeding near a school zone and make it harder for drivers to pull in and out of nearby neighborhoods. Public Works said the meeting drew 40 to 50 people, with letters asking the county to separate or “phase” the curve work from the rest of the project.
“So the comments relating to the curve — I mean, everything was kind of a function of speed. There were a lot of concerns about additional traffic, and concerns about traffic entering a roadway that’s traveling at a higher rate of speed. And that was kind of independent of what the intended speed was. The assumption was that a larger-radius, longer curve will encourage faster speeds,” Goodman added.
Staff also flagged environmental constraints, including a bald eagle nest near the proposed bluff setback route, which could affect permitting and the final alignment.
Public Works said it is aiming for 50% design by midyear, with construction targeted for 2026 and 2027, and the county will continue exploring whether the work can be phased without jeopardizing the federal grant — as bluff erosion remains the most urgent problem.