STANWOOD – The fish have stayed silent, but the secret is out. A two-year construction project to remove barriers to fish along Secret Creek beneath both directions of Interstate 5 and Old Highway 99 will begin work.
Starting Monday, March 3, people traveling along both directions of I-5 in northern Snohomish County will see work zones near 236th Street Northeast (milepost 210) and State Route 532/Stanwood-Bryant Road (milepost 212).
Contractor crews working for the Washington State Department of Transportation will replace culverts that run under I-5 and Old Highway 99 with structures that allow fish and wildlife to pass beneath the highways. To keep people and goods moving during construction, traffic will be shift to temporary two-lane bypasses for each direction of I-5 through the end of 2025.
What to expect
Initial weather-dependent nighttime work is scheduled from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. Monday through Friday the week of March 3. If needed, additional nighttime work may continue the week of March 10. Once the work zones are in place, daytime work is set to begin Monday, March 10, and will happen weekdays between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. through December 2025.
To establish work zones, crews will place concrete barriers and close one lane in each direction of I-5. In these work zones they will first build bypass roadways. Once the bypass lanes are built, which is expected to take about eight weeks, traffic will shift, and both directions of I-5 will remain in a two-lane configuration through the remainder of 2025. The speed limit will be reduced to 60 mph in the work zone, and people should plan for extra travel time, especially during peak hours.
Restoring fish passage at Secret Creek
The new Secret Creek crossings beneath I-5 and Old Highway 99 will open more than 5 miles of potential habitat to fish, including chum and coho salmon, resident trout, steelhead and sea run cutthroat. The new passages will allow other aquatic life and wildlife to pass beneath the highways.
The $57.5 million I-5 Secret Creek project is part of WSDOT’s ongoing effort to improve fish passage and reconnect waterways.
WSDOT has worked for nearly three decades to improve fish passage and reconnect streams to help keep waterways healthy. Since 2013, a federal injunction has required WSDOT to accelerate efforts to replace fish barriers. The culverts along Secret Creek and an unnamed tributary are part of the injunction.
These new structures are designed to be larger, more resilient to changing conditions and provide lasting improvements for fish and wildlife.
People can use the WSDOT interactive map to learn about corrected and uncorrected barriers and can find real-time updates by visiting the Secret Creek Online Open House and the WSDOT Travel Map.