Whiskey Bend Road, which connects Olympic Hot Springs Road to the Whiskey Bend trailhead, will close to all use in early October so that dam removal contractor Barnard Construction and Olympic National Park road crews can repair slide damage in two locations along the 4.5-mile gravel road.

Exact timing of the temporary closure will be announced soon, park officials said in a news release.

The road has been closed to vehicles since December 2010, when winter storms caused extensive damage to the road. During an assessment of the damage, road engineers discovered large voids where log cribbing beneath the road had eroded away, seriously compromising the road’s stability and motorists’ safety.

Whiskey Bend Road has remained open to pedestrian, bicycle and stock use since then.

When repairs begin in October, Whiskey Bend Road will close to all use — motorists, pedestrians, bicyclists and stock users — and is anticipated to reopen in late November.

The public is reminded that all areas west (downhill) of the Whiskey Bend Road are closed due to dam removal activities.