Stream work completed in time for 2024 salmon run in Purdy Creek
GIG HARBOR – New year, newly rebuilt stream for fish in Purdy Creek. As crews wrap up landscaping work along the creek at State Route 16, the stage is set for future salmon runs.
Fish passage work improves or replaces areas where roads and culverts hamper fish moving through waterways. Major work wrapped up in fall 2024 at Purdy Creek near Gig Harbor. In October and November, crews reported seeing pink and chum salmon in the creek near SR 16.
What was accomplished
The project began in fall 2022, when crews temporarily shifted the eastbound SR 16 lanes into the median to dig up the roadway and build the first of two 206-foot-long bridges. The eastbound bridge was completed the following spring, and the westbound bridge was completed in summer 2024. The work replaced an aging culvert that fish could not navigate with the new bridges. The project also included a new bridge on SR 302 Spur/Purdy Drive that was built in 2023 to replace a second culvert in the creek.
Stream work
After opening the second bridge on SR 16, crews worked through summer 2024 to rebuild the streambed under the highway. Work included realigning the stream and building a new embankment. Crews added large tree trunks to the stream. The tree trunks provide refuge and resting areas for fish. Once landscaping is complete, native plants along the stream will help provide important nutrients.
The new bridges provide fish at all stages of life access to spawning and rearing habitat in the creek. Crews have seen fish returning and were able to capture it on camera. Read more about the recent chum run on the WSDOT blog.
WSDOT thanks travelers for their patience during the lane closures and temporary highway changes.
The work is part of WSDOT’s extensive efforts to remove barriers to fish to allow them to pass more freely through waterways.
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