There's good news for drivers and fish: Crews will reopen a section of East Lake Sammamish Parkway just north of the Interstate 90 on- and off-ramps at Front Street at 5 a.m. June 16 — 48 hours ahead of schedule.
Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) contractor Scarsella Bros. Inc. installed a 26-by-11-foot box culvert underneath East Lake Sammamish Parkway.
The new culvert replaced a series of three 3-foot-wide culverts that are a barrier to fish passage. The work took four days and was scheduled for six.
"Anytime we close a road, we know it's an inconvenience to drivers in the area, so we're extending a big thank you to drivers for altering their routes during the past few days," said Tim Nau, WSDOT assistant project engineer. "We're also giving Scarsella big kudos for their great work. Preplanning and securing a nearby site to stage their equipment made this project go by quicker than expected."
Even though this part of the project is done, there's still a ways to go until the project is complete.
Crews still need to realign nearby North Fork of Issaquah Creek and divert it through the newly installed culvert later this summer. The creek currently crosses below Front Street and crosses twice under the on- and off-ramps from I-90. The new route will improve stream conditions for salmon and other migratory fish.
Rerouting the creek will require occasional lane closures on East Lake Sammamish Parkway and the I-90 on- and off-ramps to Front Street. However, there will be no more major closures tied to this project.