The Hurricane Ridge ski area will be closed on weekdays this winter.

Olympic National Park says it can't justify the expense of keeping the 17-mile road from Port Angeles open through the week, but it will continue to clear snow for weekend visitors.

The National Park Service, with contributions from Port Angeles, Squim (skwim) and others, spent more than $325,000 each of the past two winters clearing the road on weekdays as an experiment.

Spokeswoman Barb Maynes says Hurricane Ridge averages 219 vehicles on a winter weekend day, Friday-Sunday. Officials were hoping to average about 100 on four week days, Monday-Thursday, but the average was 43 cars two years ago and 38 last winter.

The Hurricane Ridge ski area is operated on winter weekends by a sports club.

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Information from: Peninsula Daily News, http://www.peninsuladailynews.com