On Sunday, April 2 at 5 a.m., contractor crews will close the State Route 302 Spur, also known as Purdy Drive, between Purdy Lane Northwest and 144th Street Northwest, weather permitting. All travelers will detour via Purdy Lane Northwest and 144th Street Northwest for up to eight months while crews build a bridge to replace a culvert that is a barrier to fish. The detour map is available below in the Maps & drawings tab.
Project overview
This project improves habitat and passage for fish in Purdy Creek under SR 302 and SR 16.
Purdy Creek attempts to flow under SR 16 inside 40-year-old culverts. Unfortunately, the fish cannot navigate the old culverts. This project will remove and replace the old culverts with large bridge structures. The new bridge structures are 206-foot long. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) estimates this work will create approximately 5.6 miles of new habitat for juvenile Chinook, Coho, Chum, and adult and juvenile Steelhead, coastal cutthroat and sculpin.
Purdy Creek also runs under SR 302, through an old culvert before it enters the tidal flats of the Burley Lagoon. The culvert is challenging for fish to navigate. WSDOT will remove and replace the old culvert with a 77-foot-long bridge structure. WDFW estimates a total of 6.5 miles of habitat will be created for the same species of fish listed above.
This work will help preserve the integrity of the highways and reduce maintenance costs by reducing or eliminating the possibility of culvert blockages.
What to expect
In early October 2022, construction crews moved two westbound lanes of SR 16 towards the median. The speed limit is reduced to 45 mph from the original 60 mph between milepost 17.15 and milepost 18. The work zone and reduced speed limit will be in place for up to a year.
Travelers will see overnight single-lane closures in the work zone. Lane closures on westbound SR 16 are allowed weeknights from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Lane closures on eastbound SR 16 are allowed weeknights from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.
The long-term detour for SR 302 Spur/Purdy Drive using Purdy Lane Northwest from 144th Street Northwest to the SR 302 Spur is scheduled to start in Spring 2023. Setting up the detour includes paving Purdy Lane Northwest and installing a temporary signal at the intersection of 144th Street Northwest and Purdy Lane Northwest. Travelers will see nighttime lane closures starting in late February while crews work on Purdy Lane Northwest to prepare for the detour. The detour will be in place for about eight months while crews remove an old culvert under SR 302 Spur.
This map shows the locations of where old culverts will be removed and replaced with a larger structure that will improve habitat for fish in Purdy Creek.
