Tom Pearce, communications, 206-492-9555

Work to install culvert deep under highway complete

ARLINGTON – Three months of alternating traffic has come to an end on State Route 530. At about 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16, the highway reopened to two-way traffic. Since June, a stoplight had been controlling the one-lane bypass connecting Arlington and Darrington.

Contractor crews from Kiewit, working for the Washington State Department of Transportation, finished paving and guard rail work, then reopened both lanes of the highway in the Trafton area.

The work was part of a $17.6 million fish passage project. The Connecting Washington transportation revenue package, approved by the state Legislature in 2015, funded most of the project. The work included replacing a culvert at Schoolyard Creek, east of the Trafton area, in 2019.

Improving fish passage While the highway was shifted onto the bypass, the crews dug down about 40 feet under the roadway to install a new culvert for Trafton Creek. The old culvert was narrow and had a drop most fish couldn’t navigate. The new culvert has a more natural creek bed, allowing fish to travel up and downstream more easily. The new culvert opens an additional 3.5 miles of spawning and rearing habitat for salmon and other fish.