Project news

• Bridge construction at Minter Creek is nearly complete. Most work is on winter suspension. Crews have minor task items such as guardrail installation and others that may require intermittent lane closures.
• Next summer, crews will work in the stream at Minter Creek and remove the outdated culvert. Also, next summer is when efforts to remove two outdated culverts at Little Minter Creek will occur. View Pierce County travel alerts for most current, real-time events near SR 302/SR 16.
• The back-to-back weekend closures of the SR 302 Purdy Bridge scheduled to begin Sept. 11 have been canceled due to concerns about rain in late September and have been rescheduled.
• Travelers and local residents are encouraged to sign up for email notifications 
• View construction progress photos.

Needs & benefits

This large cumulative project will remove and replace three fish barrier culverts on State Route 302 in Pierce County with fish passable structures (two with larger culverts and one with a bridge). Additionally, crews will repave nearly 8 miles of highway, complete deck repairs to the Purdy Spit Bridge and make ADA improvements for bicyclists and pedestrians at the intersections of SR 302/Purdy Drive NW and SR 302/94th Ave NW.

The speed limit on SR 302 from mileposts 10 to 11 is reduced from 45 mph to 25 mph. Travelers should continue to expect weekday daytime lane and shoulder closures as work progresses throughout the summer.

During construction, drivers should expect daytime lane and shoulder closures at the culvert sites, three full weekend closures scheduled for summer 2021 for deck repairs, and weekday, overnight on- and off-ramp closures from SR 16 to SR 302. Contractor crews will conduct earthwork, culvert installation, paving, guardrail repairs and installation, stream profile realignment, stream restoration, erosion control and water management.  

The End Result

This work is part of WSDOT’s Fish Passage Barrier Removal Program, which identifies and removes barriers to fish caused by culverts under state highways. WSDOT works in partnership with the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife to identify fish species under state-owned highways and project anticipated habitat gain. Once complete, the potential habitat gain for fish is 25 miles (21.3 miles for Minter Creek and 3.7 miles for Little Minter Creek).

Timeline

• April 2019: Contract advertised for competitive bidding
• June 20, 2019: Contract awarded to Granite Construction Company 
• 7 a.m. Monday, Aug. 26, 2019: Construction begins to clear and establish a work zone near Minter Creek to build the bypass
• Fall and Winter 2019: Construction continues to build a new bridge at Minter Creek (while traffic uses the adjacent bypass)
• Summer 2021: SR 302 Purdy Bridge deck repair job (over three consecutive weekends) and work to install culverts at Little Minter. 
• Fall 2021: Most work is complete

Funding