The start of the highway construction season starts Friday in Jefferson County as the Washington State Department of Transportation kicks off a one-year project to replace three culverts on US 101 at Leland Creek.

Contractor crews from SB Structures will start by installing a temporary traffic signal on US 101 near the worksite, about five miles north of Quilcene near Leland Valley Cut-Off Road.

The signal will be activated in mid-February, according to the Department of Transportation. 

Travelers can expect to see around-the-clock, one-way alternating traffic on US 101, and alternating traffic will continue as workers build a temporary bypass around the construction site.

In mid-March, traffic will shift onto the temporary bypass, which will remain in place for approximately four to six months. 

Travelers will continue to see one-way alternating traffic controlled by the temporary signal on the bypass.

Officials said the project is needed to replace outdated barriers that block fish from continuing upstream. Work is planned at three locations with a new bridge on US 101 just north of Rice Lake Road, and two larger box culverts at the north and south unnamed tributaries.

To construct the new box culverts, a portion of US 101 will close for three to four weeks between mid-July and mid-August. 

During the closure, traffic will detour around the project via Center Road. 

Freight haulers will need to detour via US 101, Highway 3, and Highway 104 due to weight restrictions on the Little Quilcene Bridge.

The closure dates will be announced at a later date.

The construction is part of the state’s program to remove barriers to fish under state highways.

The new bridge at Leland Creek will open 14 miles of upstream habitat to improve fish migration, officials said, and the new box culverts at the northern and southern tributaries will produce nearly four miles of upstream habitat. 

Construction is expected to be complete in early 2024.