Traffic on US 101 will be closed to one lane as work begins June 22 on a culvert-replacement project south of the Hoh Ox Bow Campground.

The $3.3 million project includes removing and replacing of an outdated, 5-foot-wide, 55-foot-long culvert between the Hoh River and an unnamed tributary, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation.

Traffic through the area during construction will be limited to a single-lane bypass starting Monday, June 22. 

Traffic will be controlled by a temporary signal until work is complete, and construction is expected to be mostly finished by fall 2020, when the highway will be fully reopened.

Drivers should expect minor delays, reduced speed limits, and occasional roadway closures. Any roadway closures will be announced in advance.

The old culvert is a barrier to fish and has a substantial water drop that keeps fish from continuing upstream, officials said.

According to WSDOT, the culvert is roughly 60 percent passable for fish in its current condition, and bull trout, steelhead, coho and cutthroat salmon have been identified at the location.

Crews will replace the culvert with a 16-foot-wide, 60-foot-long, concrete box-culvert in the creek. The work is being done by Interwest Construction.

WSDOT officials said the culvert project will potentially give a 2-mile habitat gain for the fish.

The work is being done as part of WSDOT’s Fish Passage Barrier Removal Program, which identifies and removes barriers to fish caused by culverts under state highways. The agency works with the Washington State Department of Fish & Wildlife to identify culverts that, once removed and replaced, will increase fish habitat. 

WSDOT also reminds travelers along that stretch of
US 101 that there is another WSDOT fish-barrier replacement project in its second year of construction, farther south along the highway near Queets.