Two-month closure ahead on SR 116 in Jefferson County for fish barrier removal project

PORT HADLOCK-IRONDALE - Travelers who use State Route 116 between SR 19/Rhody Drive and Chimacum Road/Irondale Road should prepare for an upcoming long-term closure and detour.

Beginning at 7 a.m. Monday, Aug. 24, SR 116 will close to all traffic around the clock between Shotwell Place and Chimacum Creek Drive. The highway will remain closed through the end of October. Signs will lead travelers around the closure.

The closure will allow contractor crews to remove and replace a culvert beneath the highway at Chimacum Creek. The full closure minimizes the environmental footprint of the project. It also shortens the overall construction timeline.

Once the culvert is removed, crews will install a large box culvert. This new structure will remove the barrier to fish. Workers will also restore stream habitat to enhance fish migration.

The work at Chimacum Creek is part of a larger effort to remove fish barriers at several sites along the North Olympic Peninsula.

The detour

Travelers will be able to access the other side of the closure using Rhody Drive, Chimacum Road and Irondale Road.

About fish passage

The work is an important part of the state's efforts to protect and restore fish runs. Since 1991, WSDOT has worked to improve fish passage and foster healthy waterways by removing barriers under its highways. In addition to WSDOT's ongoing work to correct statewide barriers, a 2013 federal court injunction requires the state to correct culverts that create barriers for salmon and steelhead to improve passage within the injunction area in western Washington.

Travelers can receive email updates about road work on state highways in Jefferson and Clallam Counties. Real-time information is available via the WSDOT app and WSDOT Travel Center Map.