Bear Creek is a tributary to the Union River, which has a low but stable population of summer chum. The culvert under Old Navy Yard Way poses upstream migration problems near the mouth of Bear Creek. The existing culvert is a 71"x 47" culvert with a pipe capacity of 140 cfs at velocities of >15 fps. The culvert has a 30" perch with rock and concrete rubble blocking a 3' plunge pool at the downstream end. The average stream width above and below the culvert is 11 feet with a 100 year flood flow of 300 cfs. The culvert is undersized, is a velocity barrier during high flows and is inaccessible to chum due to the perch at the downstream end. The salmon bang away at this culvert for days and can not get through. It is pathetic to watch. Replacing this culvert would open up approximately 0.75 miles of chum habitat and a total of 3.75 miles of good habitat for other salmonids, such as coho and steelhead. In addition, 3 acres of prime wetland habitat can be utilized by overwintering coho. Local citizens groups are working to rebuild the declining numbers of chinook in the system. This project can be accomplished during the hydraulic code work window, summer/fall 1999.