Beginning at 7 a.m. on Monday, April 1, Southeast Fish Hatchery Road in Fall City closed near Skunk Creek between 361st Avenue Southeast and 356th Drive Southeast. The closure will remain in place for up to six months. Local access will be permitted on either side of the closure.
A temporary bypass on SR 203 near Southeast 46th Street is scheduled to open in mid-April. The bypass will route SR 203 around construction of the new bridge across Skunk Creek. Both SR 203 lanes will remain open but the speed limit will reduce to 40 mph through the construction zone.
SR 202 near Southeast 46th Street will be reduced to one lane from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily Tuesday through Friday, April 2-5, for construction on the work zone bypass. Flaggers will alternate traffic through the work zone. Similar daytime SR 202 lane closures also are planned Monday through Friday, April 8-12, and Monday through Friday, April 15-19.
Project overview
As part of the state's fish recovery efforts, WSDOT has made it a priority to reconnect waterways where roads act as barriers. In Western Washington, that means replacing culverts and building hundreds of fish-passable structures under state highways by 2030 to create more habitat which is essential for meeting fish recovery goals.
Starting in mid-2023, WSDOT will build larger fish passages to restore natural stream conditions in Skunk Creek and an unnamed tributary to Skunk Creek where they cross under SR 202 and Southeast Fish Hatchery Road near Fall City. WSDOT will also build two more structures to carry an unnamed tributary to the Snoqualmie River and an unnamed tributary to Horseshoe Lake under SR 203 near Carnation.
What to expect
Replacing the culverts may take up to two years. This project is being combined into a single contract with two other fish passage projects on I-90 and SR 161. Construction is scheduled to occur from 2023-2026 in all locations.
SR 202 culverts at Skunk Creek and Southeast Fish Hatchery Road in Fall City:
- Construction starts April 1. 2024, on the fish barrier removal project at Skunk Creek.
- Southeast Fish Hatchery Road will close to through-traffic between 361st Avenue Southeast and 356th Drive Southeast for up to six months. Local access will be permitted on either side of the closure.
- In mid- to late-April 2025, a temporary bypass will open on SR 202 that routes both lanes of traffic around the work zone. The speed limit will reduce to 40 mph through the area.
- Late this summer, likely in August, the new bridge on SR 202 will be finished and SR 202 will return to its normal configuration.
- Around that same time, crews will begin building a bridge over Skunk Creek on Fish Hatchery Road. Work will continue into late 2024, at which time the road will reopen in its normal configuration.
SR 203 culvert at 324th Way Northeast in Carnation:
- Construction scheduled to start in spring 2024.
- Both lanes of SR 203 will remain open with a temporary bypass at 324th Way Northeast.
- The speed limit on SR 203 will reduce to 25 mph through the work zone.
- Bicycle and pedestrian traffic will detour around the work zone using Northeast 16th Street, the Snoqualmie Valley Trail and Northeast 24th Street.
SR 203 culvert at unnamed tributary to Horseshoe Lake:
- Construction on the new culvert on SR 203 near Northeast Carnation Farm Road was completed in August 2023 during a 56-hour highway closure. No additional closures are planned in this area.
A map showing the locations on SR 202 and 203 near Fall City and Carnation where culverts that act as fish barriers will be removed and replaced with larger, fish-friendly structures.
