Work began Monday on a Pierce County project to resurface 6.1 miles of Crystal Mountain Boulevard from state Route 410 to the Crystal Mountain Resort during the summer and fall of 2015 and 2016. Crews will also replace guardrails and replace three Silver Creek culverts with larger culvert structures.

The road will remain open during the project. In 2015, work will take place on weekdays through late October.

Intermittent delays are expected as crews start clearing slopes along the first two miles of Crystal Mountain Boulevard of trees and shrubs. Crews will also remove asphalt from the road at two culverts near the resort. Work at these three locations is expected to last through October.

Pierce County will work with the contractor to coordinate activities to minimize overall delays. The road will be reduced to one lane with alternating traffic in the three work areas, with flaggers on-site to direct traffic. There will be intermittent delays in both directions up to 10 minutes in duration. Occasional delays requiring more than 10 minutes are anticipated and will be posted by message board.

Portable signal systems will control alternating one-way traffic in the work zones after work hours and on the weekends.

After the Fourth of July weekend, activities will pick up at the two culvert locations as crews start removing loose rock from the mountainside and lowering the road to a temporary grade to allow for the installation of two new box culverts. Similar work at another existing culvert is expected to begin later in the summer.

Crystal Mountain Boulevard is a two-lane road owned by the US Forest Service, but maintained by Pierce County. The road is the most expensive to maintain in the county due to its remote location and aging infrastructure.

The businesses at the resort will remain open during the work. Homeowners will be able to use the access road to their mountain properties.This project has several environmental considerations, including protecting wildlife and minimizing noise impacts. Pierce County will mitigate impacts by avoiding work during times which may impact wildlife habitats.

Strider Construction Co. Inc. is the project’s contractor. The construction cost is approximately $12 million. The project is funded with an $8,256,200 grant from the Federal Highway Administration and $3,890,860 from the County Road Administration Board.

A project webpage is available at www.piercecountywa.org/crp5738.