By Angela Cochran and Mark Krulish
Q: What is black and white and rolls around the Puget Sound but is definitely not a soccer ball?
A: An orca.
This wasn’t a very good joke (we made it up). But we wanted to tie in fish passage with this summer’s big soccer championship. You know the one. We can’t say the name for legal reasons, but it’s in Seattle. Athletes from around the “world” are going to be there. The title includes another word for a beverage container.
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| We spotted a pod of orcas playing near the Tacoma Narrows Bridge last September. |
Anyway, one of the benefits of removing barriers to fish is feeding orcas! We’re doing our part to appease our marine overlords (well, at least they might see it that way).
If you live in Kitsap or Mason County and plan on attending any of the games, you’ll want to plan extra travel time.
Although the matches don’t start until June, we’ve already started work at two fish passage projects. One is in the Gorst area. That project ultimately will remove barriers to fish at five locations along State Route 3, SR 16 and SR 166. The other fish barrier is south of Port Orchard under SR 160, known to most as Sedgwick Road.
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| Fish passage projects will close two highways on the same day in Kitsap County. SR 3 will close near Sunnyslope Road, and SR 160 will close near Long Lake Road. |
Double red card
We plan on closing both SR 3 and SR 160 (Sedwick Road) on the same day, Saturday, June 13. We know that any road closure is at the least inconvenient. The closures will allow crews to remove and replace the highway in a relatively short time. SR 3 will be closed for 16 days so crews can install a new culvert that allows fish migration. Sedgwick Road will close for about four months while crews build a new bridge over Salmonberry Creek.
For both locations, closing the road means faster construction time and reduced environmental effects from building roads in wetlands. For the SR 3 location, it also comes with a cost savings of about half a million dollars.
Please note that we’re well aware of what’s happening in Seattle and the number of tourists who’ll surely visit this side of Puget Sound. We’ve done a lot to limit construction effects in the Greater Seattle area due to the tournament that we can’t legally name (rhymes with pearled pup). At the same time, we have a limited time period that we can work in a stream. This is determined by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife when fish are less active, and it varies by location. Plus, we’re under a federal court injunction to remove hundreds of barriers to fish by 2030, and that isn’t too far away.
SR 160/Sedgwick Road closure near Port Orchard
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| SR 3 travelers should plan extra time for the detour route. Signed detours will be available for people who drive, walk, roll or bike. |
If you’re headed towards the Southworth ferry, be prepared to take a short detour around a closure on Sedgwick Road (SR 160). In the late evening on Saturday, June 13, the highway will close between Blackberry Hill Lane and Long Lake Road until the end of October.
- Drivers will use Jackson Avenue, Salmonberry Road and Long Lake Road to get around the closure.
- People who walk, roll or bike will use Phillips Road, Salmonberry Road, Long Lake Road and Lakeview Drive.
Once the roadway reopens, work will stop until crews return in summer 2027 to remove the culvert and recreate the stream. The work at Salmonberry is one part of a larger fish barrier removal effort. A second location at Blackjack Creek on SR 16 near the Sedgwick Road interchange is scheduled to be complete in fall 2026.
SR 3 closure near Gorst
The morning of Saturday, June 13, we’re planning on closing a section of SR 3 between Belfair and Bremerton. The highway will remain closed around the clock for 16 days.
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| Travelers will see two signed detours for the SR 160 closure. |
During the closure, our contractor will remove a section of the roadway near Sunnyslope Road Southwest. A new 150-foot-long box culvert will replace the smaller, outdated culvert under the highway.
SR 3 will remain open to residential and business traffic just north and south of the construction work zone. We’ll also have signed detours so you can still get to your destination with a little advanced planning.
While SR 3 is closed, travelers will see three signed detour routes:
- Drivers will use Sunnyslope Road Southwest and Southwest Lake Flora Road.
- People who walk, roll or bike can use Northeast Old Belfair Highway/West Belfair Valley Road.
- Commercial vehicles will be routed to SR 16 and SR 302.
Crews will work double shifts to make sure the work is completed on time.
While we are pretty sure that the SR 3 closure will happen on June 13, the schedule may change for a couple of reasons. The new culvert is being assembled off-site. If there are any issues with the assembly process, the closure could happen later. We are also waiting for the creek to dry out. Gorst Creek is a seasonal stream. This means that at some point during the warmer months, there is very little to no water in the stream. If we get a lot of rain between now and the closure date, we may need to divert the water, which can take more time to set up. We will continue to monitor the culvert assembly and weather for changes. We’ll update the project webpage and real-time travel map as schedules are finalized.
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| A larger concrete culvert will replace the current one under the highway. The blue flags mark the corners of the new culvert. |
Why we remove fish barriers in seasonal streams
Some streams have seasonal flow, which means they may be dry at times, but they are still important to fish. For example, chum and pink salmon fry migrate directly to saltwater shortly after emerging from gravels in the spring. So, a stream that dries during the summer is not a concern for their life cycle. These streams can also sustain young or juvenile coho salmon. According to researchers, this is because there are often residual pools scattered through watersheds where they can wait out the dry periods. In these situations, young fish can benefit from using seasonal streams. It has been documented in studies linked on the Washington State Department of National Resources and on the Forest Service and U.S. Department of Agriculture websites, juvenile coho using seasonal streams are larger and have a greater chance of survival than streams with year-round flow. Researchers think that this may be due to reduced competition for food resources compared to year-round streams.
Gorst Creek potentially supports chum, coho, steelhead, sea-run cutthroat and resident trout.
SR 16 construction
Work is underway on SR 16 near Tremont Street West. People will see nighttime lane closures for early work and into construction as crews start building a temporary bypass road. The temporary bypass road will have two lanes in each direction. Travelers will also see detours for people who walk, roll and bike. Once the bypass road is in place, crews will start work digging up the highway. Travelers will see the speed limit temporarily reduced from 60 mph to 45 mph. A bridge will replace the outdated culvert under the highway. We expect this site to take two years to complete with work pausing for winter.
Future work
Work is also planned at three other locations: SR 16 in Gorst, the intersection of SR 3, SR 16 spur and West Sam Christopherson Avenue in Gorst, and Southeast Mile Hill Drive (SR 166) near Veterans Memorial Park in east Port Orchard. We are still working through some details on start dates and how traffic will move through these work zones. We do know that travelers will see lane closures as well as detours for people who walk, roll or bike.
Travel tools
No matter which work zone you need to navigate through this summer and beyond, we will get you where you need to go. It just may take a little longer than usual.
Make sure to check our online open house for the latest updates. You can also sign up for email alerts on state highway projects happening in Kitsap County. Download our app for real-time traffic information and alerts.
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