Kirkland's Improved Cedar Creek Culvert Boosts Fish Habitat

KIRKLAND, WA — A rehabilitation project to restore fish passage along Cedar Creek and improve hundreds of feet along the channel is now complete.

The $2.5 million overhaul of the 100th Avenue Northeast culvert was engineered by Stantec's Bellevue office and completed in partnership with Interwest Construction and the city of Kirkland. Completing the project also required the 23-day closure for one of Kirkland's busiest arterials.

According to Stantec, the final product is a large culvert running under 100th Avenue Northeast, replacing a tiny, 40-year-old structure with one that is 14-feet wide, 10-feet tall and 120-feet long. Accomplishing such a large transition required bypassing the creek, excavating along the existing roadway, and rebuilding the road to be ready for a future widening project.

A new 1,200-foot channel allows for larger flows, removing a formidable barrier for native fish and reducing flood risks downstream, officials said.

"As a high priority for the City, this project removes the most significant fish barrier on Cedar Creek," said Tim Nightengale, a project biologist for Stantec. "The improvements open up significant habitat to migratory anadromous fish upstream of this location and will improve the overall health of Cedar Creek."

In a news release, Stantec said the Kirkland culvert joins nearly 100 other fish passage projects recently completed in the Pacific Northwest.