Project funding
This project is funded by Federal American Rescue Plan Act and State Move Ahead Washington funds. The total cost of the project is $159.6 million.
Project benefits
Restores habitat for fish
This project is removing 17 fish barriers and replacing them with 10 fish passable structures. Replacing the outdated culverts with new ones will open potential upstream habitat for salmon to spawn and grow. The new culverts and natural features will make it easier for fish to move through the creeks by slowing the water and creating a more natural stream environment.
A 2016 federal court injunction requires the state to significantly increase its efforts to remove state-owned culverts that block salmon, bull trout and steelhead habitats. The Injunction requires us to first evaluate if the crossing can be removed. By relocating the streams, seven additional stream crossings were eliminated. Rechanneling some of the tributaries, will create deeper, colder streams that help fish move through the area.
This reduces costs of installing additional structures and the long-term maintenance associated with each while ensuring fish can use more natural stream sections instead of streams under a highway structure.
Updating aging infrastructure and improving roadway resiliency
The new, larger culverts and bridges installed during this project will replace outdated culverts, which are usually a small pipe that run beneath the roadway, some of which are beginning to show signs of failure. These new structures are designed to current seismic standards, and the roadway is upgraded to current safety standards.
Removing invasive species and installing native landscape
The new streamswill include natural elements, such as logs and boulders to stabilize the channel, create habitat for fish and restore the natural flow of the streams that were disrupted when the original culverts were installed under the highway.