Date:
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Contact:
Jerry Moore, WSDOT Project Manager, (360) 457-2575
Jamie Swift, WSDOT Communications, (360) 357-2703
POULSBO – The salmon have spoken.
Several have been spotted making their way through the Dogfish Creek channel that was recently realigned by WSDOT to create space for the State Route 305 widening project.
“We take very seriously our role as environmental stewards,” said WSDOT project manager Jerry Moore. “While the return of the salmon was fully expected, it’s still nice to get nature’s stamp of approval on the work we’re doing.”
Construction began in early August on the $14.9 million SR 305 widening project, which adds lanes, improves five intersections, and builds sidewalks and bike lanes.
As part of this project, WSDOT and its contractors are improving Dogfish Creek by replacing eight culverts that are barriers to fish passage, relocating a section of the south fork of Dogfish Creek away from the highway, and constructing replacement wetlands.
The work is already paying dividends.
“I talked to some Poulsbo city employees who had seen a salmon near the Eighth and Iverson Street intersection,” said WSDOT construction engineer George Titterness. “One of them mentioned it was the largest fish he had ever seen that far up creek.”
Nature’s inherent resiliency deserves as much credit as the workers who designed and built the new channel, Titterness said.
“As long as we provide a good grade for the creek with no obstructions and good streambed gravel, it doesn’t take long for nature to do the rest,” Titterness said. “Nature is pretty chaotic, so it’s not like every piece of gravel or woody debris has to be in a certain position.”
Crews will install four more fish-friendly culverts next summer, Moore said. The widening project is expected to be complete in November 2007.
For more information on the SR 305 - Poulsbo South City Limit to Bond Road project, visit www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/SR305/PoulsboSouthtoBondRd/.
< Back to News Home