FORKS — A culvert that washed out under Russell Road in Forks during flooding this month could cost between $500,000 and $800,000 to replace and will be left alone for the time being.
Mayor Bryon Monohon said Mill Creek, which passes through the culvert on its way to join with the Quillayute River, has been eating away at the structure for a while.
The culvert washed out in a Dec. 12 storm that caused flooding of rivers throughout the North Olympic Peninsula.
“There is a lot of swirling and eddying activity that is eating away at both sides of the banks,” Monohon said.
For now, that portion of the road, which is near the Forks Municipal Airport, is closed.
Emergency vehicles as well as other vehicles must find alternate routes, he said.
Jersey barriers
“We put up some barricades and sealed it off, and a few folks wanted to open it up themselves, so we put some Jersey barriers up,” he said.
The city plans to see how the culvert weathers the next big storm of the season before attempting any temporary fixes.
Arterial street
Because fish runs go through the river and the culvert is under an arterial street, federal funds originally were allotted to the project, Monohon said.
But those funds are on hold for now, he said.
“It is frustrating, of course,” he said.
“Our logging guys want to just go over there and throw in a culvert and seal it up, but it is a fish-bearing stream, and under the federal guidelines, it has to be done a certain way.”
28 feet wide
The plan is to place a box culvert, which is 28 feet wide, under the road, Monohon said.
“That is about as big as it gets without calling it a bridge,” he said.
“We are hoping that with that width, it will have a little more freedom to flow and we won’t have the problems with erosion,” he said.
