SEQUIM — A series of road construction projects along U.S. Highway 101 to remove barriers to fish are about halfway complete, according to the state Department of Transportation. Additional work is expected to impact traffic on the highway well into the fall.

The projects, which will run until fall 2025, began with the replacement of a culvert on Eagle Creek near Gardiner, which has now been completed.

This summer, work moved to Discovery Creek in Sequim and Chicken Coop Creek in Blyn.

State workers installed two active two-lane bypasses near West Sequim Bay Road at mile marker 268.5 and near Deerhawk Drive at mile marker 271.9, allowing workers to replace the culverts with minimal impact to traffic.

At both locations, travelers now use new motorway bridges.

“It’s a common tool we use in this type of work,” state officials said on their blog (wsdotblog.blogspot.com/2024/08/us-101-fish-passage.html). “While we dig up the highway, people are using a two-lane bypass next to the work zone. We’re keeping people moving while we remove obstructions to fish.

“Removing these barriers is an important part of the state’s efforts to restore salmon migration, which will ultimately benefit both the landscape and the economy of the Pacific Northwest.”

Work began on the bridge at Contractor’s Creek in April. Workers have temporarily widened U.S. Highway 101 to divert travelers away from the construction site. The shifted lanes will remain in place until next spring, transportation officials said. Work along Discovery Bay will continue until fall 2025.

Later this summer and fall, construction will begin on the project’s final two fish barriers – Johnson Creek near Sequim and a creek in the Blyn area.

In Johnson Creek, a left turn closure will be required at the intersection of Whitefeather Way and US Highway 101; there will be no left turns to or from the highway and Whitefeather Way from September through June 2025.

Vehicles traveling to the John Wayne Marina or the Olympic Discovery Trail parking lot on Whitefeather Way will be detoured via West Sequim Bay Road.

“We can only do this kind of work for a limited time,” said Department of Transportation officials.

“This window is usually from July to September. Outside of this fishing window, we do a lot of other work.”

Due to the construction site’s proximity to Whitefeather Way, state transportation workers will use a two-lane bypass to accommodate pedestrian traffic through the construction site.

In addition, the project will require a temporary closure of Whitefeather Way at U.S. Highway 101, state officials said. The closure is expected to last for two weeks in spring 2025.

“We understand it is an inconvenience; we are working to keep intersections open whenever possible,” state officials said in their blog. “However, this task requires the temporary closure. We will let you know when the closure is planned.”

Parts of US Highway 101 will be diverted to the Olympic Discovery Trail.

Get updates through the WSDOT app (wsdot.wa.gov/travel/mobile-app-and-social-media), the travel center map (tinyurl.com/SEQwsdotTraffic) and social media platforms.

________

Michael Dashiell is the editor of the Sequim Gazette for the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which also includes Sound Publishing’s other newspapers, Peninsula Daily News and Forks Forum. He can be reached at [email protected].