Federal mandate to help salmon leads to new bridge in state park

In the coming months, a new bridge in Sequim Bay State Park will open to provide new passages for humans and to support salmon migration.

Crews with Nordland Construction moved the 177,000-pound, 210-foot long and 10-foot-wide bridge on Jan. 19, into place spanning an unnamed creek.

Its intent is partially to connect the Olympic Discovery Trail to a historical railroad grade and to help remove roadway that might obstruct water going to the bay for salmon, said project manager Steven Wright with the State Parks and Recreation Commission.

The project is part of the state’s multi-agency Fish Barrier Removal Project after the U.S. District Court ordered the state follow 21 Washington tribes’ request to follow a treaty to preserve fish runs by repairing or replacing culverts that negatively affect salmon migration.

According to the Department of Transportation’s website, the March 2013 federal court injunction required the state to fix impeding culverts by 2030.

Sequim Bay State Park’s new bridge project falls under the guise of the parks and recreation commission and costs about $1.3 million, state officials said.

Lisa Lantz, parks and recreation commission stewardship program manager, said state parks submitted a list of 15 barrier culverts under state roads, including Sequim Bay State Park, for an estimated cost of $4.4 million.

The commission’s deadline to correct the issues was Halloween 2016, which they met, she said, but one additional culvert barrier was found since then and agency staff continue to seek funds for the project.

Work by the commission on the culverts began in 2013 but Lantz said there isn’t an end date because they’ll continue to address culvert issues as needed.

The Department of Transportation reports it has 996 culverts under roadways that apply under the federal injunction and about 825 of those have significant salmon habitat.

Doug Adamson, Department of Transportation spokesman, said Sequim will see another federal injunction-related construction project this summer along U.S. Highway 101 in Carlsborg area over Matriotti Creek, between Carlsborg Road and Joslin Road, to remove a 25-foot box culvert. “The project is out in design and not out for bid yet,” he said. “We’re doing a lot of work to simulate a natural stream. (Construction) will remove the culvert on both sides of the highway but there aren’t specifics on traffic control yet. We’ll keep traffic moving and do what we can.”

Bridge span

Wright said the bridge was designed and built in Montana and delivered in three 70-foot sections on Jan. 16-17 and assembled in the park.

A service road was taken out in September, park officials said, and much of the debris in the unnamed creek was removed as well along with a 3-foot buried culvert.

The Olympic Discovery Trail was diverted in September, too, officials said, but it tentatively will reopen on the bridge in March.

The new bridge replaces a historical railroad bridge with a three-span wooden trestle before it was removed in the 1980s, Wright said.

Crews worked several hours meticulously shifting and placing the bridge using several staffers, trucks and two cranes on Jan. 19.

Project manager Steven Wright with the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission said he anticipates the new bridge in Sequim Bay State Park tentatively opening in March. Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash

The new bridge in Sequim Bay State Park spans 210 feet in three sections and weighs 177,000 pounds. Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash

Brenna Mack, a park aide at Sequim Bay State Park, watches the new bridge for the Olympic Discovery Trail go in on Jan. 19. It tentatively opens to the public in March. Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash