QUILCENE – It was a busy summer in Jefferson County opening habitats for local fish. Two big projects, one on US 101 and the other on State Route 104 and SR 19, have wrapped up.

Contractors working for the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) last February began replacing a culvert beneath US 101 at Leland Creek near Quilcene with a new bridge. The roadway at the Leland Creek site reopened to two-way traffic on Thursday, Nov. 9. Crews are currently finishing up work off the roadway. Some of that work is weather-sensitive. It should be completed by mid-December except for some railing that will be installed in January.

Crews also replaced culverts at two unnamed tributaries to Leland Creek further north on US 101 with new box culverts. As part of that work, the roadway was closed between Leland Valley Road and Leland Cut Off Road for 19 days. The roadway reopened on Aug. 19.

In total, 14 miles of new habitat is now open for Chinook, coho salmon, steelhead and bull trout.

Near Port Ludlow, WSDOT contractors began the replacement of two more culverts – one at Shine Creek on SR 104 and one at Swansonville Creek on SR 19. At both locations,18-foot-wide, three-sided culverts replaced much smaller culverts.

The project featured a 10-day closure of SR 19 just south of Swansonville Road. The roadway reopened Friday, Sept. 15.

Removing the two barriers resulted in five miles of new habitat gain at the two sites. Workers completed that project on Friday, Nov. 10.