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 as early as 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
The project will require significant closures on SR 202 and SR 203.
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. Because of the multiple locations, we cannot specify at this time when the work will occur on SR 202 and 203. Efficiencies and construction techniques proposed by the contractor could result in few lane reductions and road closures, but this is what we anticipate:
- SR 202 culverts at Skunk Creek: The highway reduced to one lane of alternating traffic for up to eight months or building a short-term bypass route by using Southeast Fish Hatchery Road.
- SR 203 culverts at Northeast Carnation Farm Road and 324th Way Northeast: Single lane closures on SR 203 and one 56-hour full closure of the highway.
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.
