PORT ANGELES — The state Department of Transportation has started a new construction project to remove four fish barriers in Clallam and Jefferson counties.
The barriers are obstructing Ennis, Lees and Tumwater creeks under U.S. Highway 101 in Port Angeles and Chimacum Creek in under state Highway 116 in Port Hadlock-Irondale.
The two-year project will replace outdated culverts with new structures to improve fish migration and will require long-term closures on Highway 101 and Highway 116.
The closures will decrease the overall project time, according to a WSDOT press release.
The project is part of the state’s fish passage improvement program mandated by a 2013 injunction issued by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington in a long-running suit brought by the Western Washington Treaty Tribes.
WSDOT faces a 2030 deadline to restore 90 percent of blocked fish habitat west of the Cascades.
Through the end of 2023, the department had corrected culverts at 146 sites subject to the injunction, opening 571 miles of previously blocked salmon and steelhead habitat.
Beginning March 3, construction will begin at Tumwater Creek near Nicholas Road.
During the construction, Highway 101 will be closed for 80 days. Through traffic will be detoured along First and Front streets through downtown Port Angeles, onto Marine Drive and then onto state Highway 117, the Tumwater Truck Route, before merging back onto Highway 101.
Construction is expected to take up to a year, WSDOT said.
Work at Lees and Ennis creeks also is scheduled to begin in March. The start date has yet to be determined.
These two creeks cross under Highway 101 east of Port Angeles between Del Guzzi Drive and Brook Avenue.
Drivers can expect to see night-time lane closures as the contractor crews set up the work zone with shifted lanes and a reduced speed limit of 25 mph.
Construction at Lees and Ennis creeks is expected to last for two years, WSDOT said.
Work at Chimacum Creek, just east of state Highway 19, Rhody Drive, is currently scheduled to begin this summer.
Drivers can expect a long-term closure of Highway 116 between Shotwell Place and Chimacum Creek Drive.
The closure date and length have yet to be determined.
During the closure, a marked detour along Rhody Drive to Irondale Road and onto Chimacum Road will be in place.
Construction at the Chimacum Creek site will take about one year, WSDOT said.
For more information on the project, visit https://wsdot.wa.gov/construction-planning/search-projects/us-101-sr-116-north-olympic-peninsula-remove-fish-barriers.
For real-time traffic information, visit https://wsdot.com/travel/real-time/map or download the WSDOT app.
