The Washington State Department of Transportation is putting the finishing touches on a two-year fish passage project at Purdy Creek near Gig Harbor along State Route 16, which will help salmon migrate to spawning areas with greater ease.
[Above photo by WSDOT]
The agency noted in a statement that its fish passage work improves or replaces areas where roads and culverts hamper fish moving through waterways across the state.
This project is part of WSDOT’s extensive work to remove barriers to fish as part of federal court order issued in 2013; work that entails removing state-owned culverts that block habitat for salmon and steelhead fish species, allowing them to pass more freely through waterways to breeding areas, by 2030.
The agency noted that major work wrapped at the Purdy Creek project site in late 2024, with agency work crews observing in October and November pink and chum salmon in the creek near State Route16. Those crews are currently completing landscaping work at the site, WSDOT said; work that includes placing native plants along the stream to provide important nutrients into the ecosystem.
The department noted that the Purdy Creek project rebuilt the streambed under State Route 16; work that included realigning the stream, building a new embankment, and adding large tree trunks to the stream to provide refuge and resting areas for the fish.
The project also included a new bridge on State Route 302 Spur/Purdy Drive that was built in 2023 to replace a second culvert in the creek.
