DISCOVERY BAY — A ribbon-cutting ceremony and formal dedication is set for the end of this month for an 80-foot concrete bridge over Salmon Creek at West Uncas Road.
The Wally Bowman Bridge replaced a culvert and opened the stream bed for free passage of summer chum salmon, creating 0.75 additional miles of prime spawning habitat, according to Jefferson County Public Works in a press release.
Nordland Construction Northwest finished construction of the Wally Bowman Bridge at milepost 0.804 in January.
The dedication will be at the bridge from 10 a.m. to noon May 31.
The $980,169 project involved removing a culvert; reconstructing the stream bed; constructing a pile foundation, concrete abutments and girders and a structural earth wall; installing a bridge rail and guardrail and laying new pavement.
This project follows the completion of a multi-year, multi-agency plan that restored downstream salmon habitat between the bridge site and Discovery Bay, and brings the Salmon Creek habitat improvement plan to its final stages, Jefferson County Pubic Works said.
The Salmon Recovery Funding Board provided 87 percent of the funding. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife National Fish Passage Program and the County Road Fund together provided the remaining 13 percent.
For more information, contact Jefferson County Public Works at 360-385-9160 or pubworks@co. jefferson.wa.us.
