By Pat Jenkins The Dispatch Another long summer of roadwork is underway at Mount Rainier National Park, with a road closure and traffic delays for weekday visitors in the offing. The Nisqually to Paradise Road project, which is putting $32 million worth of improvements into the 17.6 miles of heavily used roadway, began in 2014. It wound through last summer before being forced by snow and freezing temperatures to take a winter and spring break , and it's back on beginning this month and continuing until early fall, when there will be another seasonal siesta. There will be no roadwork on weekends, when the park typically is busiest. But when crews are working Monday through Friday, visitors entering the park via the Nisqually entrance can expect delays of up to 30 minutes, according to park officials. Also from now until fall, Ricksecker Point Loop Road and the parking area at Glacier Bridge will be closed because of the project. The work this year, called Phase 2 of the project, is on the portion of road from Longmire to Paradise and is scheduled for completion in 2017. Though summer is when the park gets most of its visitors, its favorable weather also makes it the only major roadwork can be done. While apologizing for inconveniences for the public, park officials noted that the silver lining of the project will be a better driving experience and more longevity for the only road that provides access year-round to the popular Paradise recreation area. The federal-funded facelift, first announced in December 2012, includes new paving and improved drainage. The roadway has been deteriorating from the effects of rain and snow, structural and design deficiencies, and the normal wear and tear of heavy traffic. Many of the park's approximately 1 million-plus visitors per year drive on the winding, scenic road to campgrounds, trailheads and other recreation areas such as Paradise, which has the Henry M. Jackson Visitors Center, Paradise Inn, and trails that take day hikers and mountain climbers into the wilderness. Mount Rainier National Park, established in 1899, is the fifth-oldest national park in the U.S. Nisqually-to-Paradise is the second major road project for the park the past four years. The $2.3 million restoration of Stevens Canyon Road in 2012 and 2013 included resurfacing 10 miles of road and improving bridges, tunnels, culverts, guard walls, retaining walls, turnouts and the short Wonderland Trail section adjacent to Reflection Lake.
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