DESCRIPTION
Kitsap County is proposing this design project to complete final designs of a bridge to replace an undersized culvert under Olympiad Drive, a road crossing located within Harper Estuary, a pocket estuary in the vicinity of the Harper-Southworth area on the west shores of central Puget Sound. The overall goal of this project is to produce a final design for a bridge spanning the estuary that will ultimately allow tidal inundation to the south of the estuary, and restore ecological functions of the pocket estuary, a very important habitat for juvenile salmonids.
This Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and Washington Department of Ecology funded restoration project at the Harper Estuary is the implementation of an important nearshore priority in the West Sound Watersheds Lead Entity. WDFW has the lead for the habitat restoration, and Kitsap County has the lead in designing a bridge to replace an under-sized culvert and a road crossing. At present, the funds for the completion of a Type, Size and Location Report for a bridge have been secured (with habitat restoration as a guiding factor). This report will be finished in late summer, 2015 - which will provide a 30% design.
Kitsap County completed final design for a bridge to replace an undersized culvert under Olympiad Drive, a road crossing intersecting Harper Estuary. Harper Estuary is a pocket estuary in the vicinity of the Harper-Southworth area on the west shores of central Puget Sound. The final bridge design allows optimal tidal inundation to the south of the estuary to restore ecological functions of the estuarine area. Pocket estuaries are documented to be a vital element in the life cycle of juvenile salmonids including chum, coho, and Chinook salmon for rearing, feeding, and protection from predators.
The Washington Department of Ecology received funds from the ASARCO settlement for natural resource damage to restore Harper Estuary. The WA Department of Fish and Wildlife is leading the estuary restoration/cleanup component of the project while Kitsap County is leading the design and construction of a bridge to replace the undersized culvert under SE Olympiad Drive. A Type, Size, and Location (TS&L) Report is attached in PRISM. The final designs align to Manual 18 Appendix D-3, Kitsap County road standards, and meet WA State Department of Transportation bridge design manual (as adopted by Kitsap County).
