The East Lake Sammamish Parkway is scheduled to be fully closed to vehicular and bicycle traffic, from where it intersects with 212th Way SE to Louis Thompson RD NE, from August 6-20, for construction on the Zackuse Creek Fish Passage and Stream Restoration Project.

The primary objectives for the Zackuse Creek Fish Pass and Restoration Project include both replacing the existing culvert under East Lake Sammamish Parkway so that it is fully fish passable and with design elements that emulate a natural stream bed, and restoring approximately 400 linear feet of Zackuse Creek upstream of the culvert. Construction crews must remove the road to access and replace the existing culvert. The primary detour route will be 212th Way SE/212th Ave SE/Louis Thompson Road. Residents and commuters should also anticipate periodic lane closures between July and September.

The Zackuse Creek Fish Passage and Stream Restoration project will aid in the reestablishment of Zackuse Creek as a kokanee spawning area. Spawning areas for native kokanee salmon have reduced to a handful of tributaries to Lake Sammamish when once they were known to spawn throughout Lake Washington, the Sammamish River, and Lake Sammamish. The decline of the local population has been of special concern to Sammamish residents, fisheries and native tribes. Without diversity in available spawning habitat, a single localized event, whether natural or anthropogenic, could destroy the entire population.

For more information on this project visit the City website, or contact Tawni Dalziel, Senior Stormwater Program Manager at tdalziel@sammamish.us.