Barring weather problems, Hurricane Ridge Road in Olympic National Park should be back in business on Saturday, a week earlier than was predicted when a contractor was hired to repair road damage caused by a landslide. To mark the occasion, park officials have decided to waive entrance fees for all heading up to Hurricane Ridge this weekend. The road has been closed since January 18 when a slope below the roadway slid downhill, taking with it most of both travel lanes along a 100-foot long section of road. The road closure was just below Heart O’the Hills entrance station, about five miles south of Port Angeles. “We are extremely pleased to once again welcome visitors to Hurricane Ridge, and to help celebrate, we are waiving entrance fees to Hurricane Ridge for the weekend,” said Olympic Superintendent Karen Gustin. “I am very grateful to Bruch & Bruch, to park staff and to our Federal Highways partners for all they did to reopen the road in only five weeks. The importance of Hurricane Ridge to our local and regional community cannot be overstated, and we are also very grateful for the public’s understanding and patience as we worked hard to reopen the road.” The contract to repair the Hurricane Ridge Road landslide was awarded to Port Angeles contractor Bruch & Bruch Construction, Inc., on January 22; work began very soon thereafter and continued 12 hours each day from Monday through Saturday. Before actual repairs could begin, the contractor first removed more than 2,000 truckloads of the fine-grained fill that led to the slope failure and installed a larger culvert. Once the culvert was in place, they brought in more than 1,300 truckloads of rock and gravel to create a firm foundation for the road. The total repair cost was initially estimated to reach $2.8 million. The final price is considerably less, at approximately $2.17 million. “Not only was the project finished a week early, it came in under budget,” said Superintendent Gustin. The Hurricane Ridge Ski Area will be open this weekend, weather permitting, with both the beginner and intermediate rope tows in operation. The Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center information desk will be staffed and a guided snowshoe walk will be offered at 2:00 p.m.; anyone interested in participating in the snowshoe walk should sign up in advance at the information desk. The Hurricane Ridge snack bar and ski shop will be closed this weekend, and ski or snowshoe rentals will not be available. These services are scheduled to reopen the weekend of March 6 and 7. Weather permitting, Hurricane Ridge Road is open Friday through Sunday each week during the winter; the downhill ski area and snack bar/ski shop are scheduled to be open Saturdays and Sundays.