Duckabush project moves ahead

A project design that includes a 1,613-foot-long bridge over the Duckabush River Estuary on U.S. Highway 101, 5 miles north of the Jefferson-Mason County line, is about 65% complete, and people interested in the project's progress got a preview at an open house Saturday at the Brinnon Community Center.

Feasibility studies for the project to reconnect the Duckabush River to its historic floodplain began in 2016. The project is led by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the state Department of Fish and Wildlife with support from the state Department of Transportation and the Belfair-based Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group.

The design work began in 2019 and is expected to be completed in late 2025. Once construction begins, work is expected to take up to five years. The project includes removing the two bridges that span U.S. 101 in the estuary and removing causeways and berms. The project is estimated to cost more than $100 million.

According to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, project partners are monitoring fish and wildlife for comparison after the project is complete.

The department reports the Duckabush Estuary has "been degraded for almost 100 years by a wall of highway fill that nearly severs the ecological connection of the estuary to the tidelands."

The project will reconnect the river to neighboring floodplains and wetlands by modifying local roads, elevating U.S. Highway 101 onto the estuary-spanning bridge and reconnecting historical channels.

"To give a visual of the impact, the current channel openings - bridges - combined are equal to 289 feet," Hood Canal Executive Director Mendy Harlow wrote in an email to the Journal. "The post-project channel opening will be 1,613 feet, five football fields long."

The restoration activities are mostly on public land at the Duckabush Wildlife Area Unit, managed by WDFW. According to the department, the project will:

■ Improve habitat for fish and wildlife, including Hood Canal summer chum and Chinook salmon, a main food source for endangered southern resident killer whales.

■ Reduce seasonal flooding in the area, benefiting public and private property.

■ Provide a modern highway design that meets current safety standards.

■ Create about 1,300 jobs.

■ Establish a wildlife corridor under the highway to improve habitat connectivity for bear, elk and other animals, and reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions.

The shoulders will be widened alongside U.S. 101. The intersection at Duckabush Road will be redesigned and a left turn lane added from northbound U.S. 101 onto Duckabush Road. Public parking will be added next to Duckabush Road at the north end of the bridge to provide access to the wildlife area.

This summer, Mason PUD #1 will begin off-site work to move utilities out of the future construction work zone.

According to Harlow, the Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group has been working since 2015 to acquire properties in the project footprint. In 2019, the Belfair-based group secured the funding for the design of the U.S. 101 bridge.

"Since HCSEG is a grassroots nonprofit organization with a lot of volunteers and connections in the community, we are also responsible for the public outreach for the project," Harlow wrote.

The group is hosting five Duckabush Estuary education tours this spring and summer at 2:30 p.m. the last Wednesday of each month starting May 29.

"These tours will highlight project information and focus on the multitude of terrestrial and aquatic species that depend on the Duckabush Estuary for survival," Harlow wrote.