This road work, between Grays Harbor and Thurston counties, begins Monday, WSDOT says

A major project to improve state Route 8 between Grays Harbor County and Thurston County begins Monday, the state Department of Transportation announced in an update.

Road crews on May 30 will begin closing lanes on eastbound SR 8 between Elma and Olympia to repave 21 miles of road in the left lane. Later, they will repave three miles of a westbound lane between U.S. 101 and Winslow Drive Southwest, according to WSDOT.

The contractor will close lanes both day and night to complete the work, although more specific times were not identified.

A temporary speed limit reduction will be in place on SR 8 during the project. The 60 miles per hour speed limit will be reduced to 45 mph from milepost 0 to 20.63, according to WSDOT.

In addition, a half mile of state Route 108/West Simpson Avenue will be paved in both directions in McCleary, Grays Harbor County, between SR 8 to East Fork Wildcat Creek, WSDOT officials say.