King County will design a bridge to replace a dual box culvert that conveys Cottage Lake Creek (a tributary to Bear Creek) under Avondale Rd. NE in unincorporated King County. The new bridge will allow natural stream and floodplain processes in Cottage Lake Creek, which will also improve habitat-forming processes both upstream and downstream of the crossing. Habitat near Cottage Lake includes streams flowing through extensive riparian/floodplain wetland systems that provide ideal rearing habitat for juvenile salmonids. Much of this land is publicly owned and protected as natural areas or parks. Potential species present include Chinook, sockeye, coho, steelhead, sea-run cutthroat, and resident trout. The culvert is a 67% passable water surface drop barrier, tied for the 11th-highest habitat priority barrier out of more than 950 King County-owned ranked barriers. Since Mid Sound Fisheries' recently completed removal of the sole downstream barrier during the winter of 2025-26, this culvert is the most downstream barrier. There are about 15 miles of potential salmon habitat upstream of the site, including roughly 5.5 miles upstream to the next known barriers. Newly accessible streams include all of Cottage Lake Creek up to and including Cottage Lake, the lower reaches of Daniels, Freeman, and Cold Creeks, and unnamed tributaries to these creeks. Future planned barrier remedies will restore unimpeded salmon access to an additional 2.3 miles of habitat upstream.