DESCRIPTION
The project will replace an aging 6-ft x 6-ft x 146-ft (w x h x l) concrete box culvert that conveys the North Creek under Harborview Drive in the City of Gig Harbor, Washington. Harborview Drive appears on maps as early as 1917. The culvert is located along the apparent natural flow path of North Creek. The current box culvert was originally constructed prior to 1970. To improve fish passage at this location, a new crossing is proposed to safely convey the 100-year flood and provide suitable velocity and depth over a range of flows to allow use and passage by juvenile and adult salmonids, including Chinook, coho, steelhead, and chum. The project will remove the culvert and soil fill prism, replacing the crossing with a 45-ft x 85-ft (w x l) bridge deck that will carry two lanes of traffic, pedestrian sidewalks, and utilities, including water, sewer, and electrical. In doing this, the new crossing will provide additional benefit as a wildlife corridor and may include a pedestrian undercrossing under the road along the stream bank to connect Donkey Creek Park, as was also done at the downstream crossing at North Harborview Drive. The bridge will be supported on abutments that are spaced wide enough to accommodate the 100-year flood and the estimated 2080 climate change flood. The proposed bridge project will reconnect 0.51 miles of North Creek stream corridor to the estuary of Gig Harbor