Bayhead Creek Culvert Repair Project on Killebrew Lake Rd

Project Brief

San Juan County is required by state law to replace a culvert located on Orcas Island under Killebrew Lake Road, just east of Laporte Road, with a fish-passable design. Funding for this project comes from FEMA and expires in early 2026. Replacement will occur in summer 2025.

Background

A storm in February of 2020 overwhelmed the culvert on Bayhead Creek under Killebrew Lake Road, just east of Laporte Road, and blew it out, causing catastrophic damage to the road and making it impassable. Following consultation from the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), San Juan County Public Works had the road reopened within 9 days after replacing the culvert with a temporary, 24-inch culvert under the condition the County would design a more permanent, fish-passable culvert. Now, with FEMA funding secured and a design in hand, the County is advancing plans to satisfy state requirements and install a 12-foot-wide box culvert specially designed to improve fish passage in Bayhead Creek and withstand future storms.

Construction Design

The County is considering several key factors in the construction design of this project, including cost, environmental impact, and how construction will affect the community. As such, two alternatives have been proposed - one that gets the job done as quickly and efficiently as possible but requires a maximum 9-day road closure, and a second that includes a single-lane bypass road for an estimated 3-4 weeks. These two designs are currently undergoing a constructability review with KBA, a construction management firm, to determine how each option will affect these variables. The County's goal is to minimize both inconvenience to the community and impact to the environment while staying within funding constraints.

Construction Window

This type of project typically requires dry weather to be completed efficiently. At the same time, the County wants to be mindful that the driest months of the year, July and August, are also our busiest in terms of traffic. As such, the County has identified two shoulder-season windows for starting construction: between Memorial Day Weekend and Fourth of July (if road closure option is chosen, road closure must be completed before Fourth of July), or after Labor Day Weekend. Physical construction will be completed within 45 days of the construction start date.

Next Steps & Timeline

After completion of the constructability review, the County will work with the engineer of record, from Wolf Water Resources, to create a scope of work and put the project out to bid in early 2025. Conditions of the scope will include a maximum road closure window of 9 days and that both construction options are addressed in the contractor's bid. The County will also meet with the Fire Marshall and Sheriff to ensure a robust emergency services plan is in place during road closure.