Forest Service to create traffic delays

THOMPSON FALLS - The Forest Service will be completing a road reconstruction and stream rehabilitation project in Clear Creek beginning Wednesday, October 30. The project is expected to take up to three weeks to complete and will require traffic delays on the Clear Creek Road between the hours of 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. There are four locations in Clear Creek where the stream is immediately adjacent to the main road. The goal of the project is to move the road away from the stream as much as possible and create a small vegetated flood plain between the road and the stream. The first two locations where this work will take place are at mileposts 3 and 3.5. Activity at these locations will be most disruptive to public traffic due to the extent of work to be done and the fact that these sites are low enough on the road system that they effectively block the rest of the road. Once work progresses to the sites at mileposts 6 and 7, people will be able to use the Mosquito Ridge Road System (Roads 301 & 302) to access Little Beaver Creek and the Clear Creek Trailhead.

While every effort will be made to allow vehicle passage throughout each day of the project, there may be delays of several hours while equipment and large rocks occupy the roadway. The road will be open after 6 PM every evening and remain open until 8 AM each morning. According to District Ranger Randy Hojem, the timing of the project is far from ideal, but the opportunity to complete it before winter sets in and partnership funding is lost weighed heavily in his decision to implement it now. “We had plans to finish this project before hunting season arrived, and those plans did not materialize for a variety of reasons. I apologize for the inconvenience the timing of this project will create, and I thank you for your patience” said Hojem.

Additional information about the project can be obtained by contacting