There are two culverts carrying fish-bearing streams under I-405 in the vicinity of Ripley Lane that have been identified as fish barriers. In addition, these two existing culverts have known maintenance issues and need to be replaced because they are at the end of their useful life. These two tributaries of Lake Washington are located near the northern border of the City of Renton, less than half a mile north of the I-405/Northeast 44th Street interchange.
The work to be completed in this project, combined with that being completed in the Renton to Bellevue project, is part of the 2013 U.S. District Court ruling requiring the state to remove fish barriers. WSDOT is addressing downstream constrictions to allow the free passage of fish as required by the court. The current stream outfalls into Lake Washington between two houses on Ripley Lane in Renton. WSDOT is working to determine the location and design for this new stream connection.
The Court has ruled that the State of Washington has built and currently operates stream culverts that block fish passage to and from the tribes' usual and accustomed fishing places, depriving the tribes of the fishing rights reserved in the treaties.
The project is currently in the design and environmental stages. We anticipate construction will be complete by 2031. A more detailed schedule for this project is yet to be determined.
Milestone
2031
Complete construction
The project is funded with Connecting Washington funds.
The proposed stream connection design concept we are pursuing for the project will address downstream capacity needs and result in fully restored connections of Stream 7.7A and 7.8 to Lake Washington.
We evaluated multiple other design concepts prior to selecting the proposed concept shown above.
I-405/SR 167 Corridor Program
The I-405 Renton to Bellevue Widening and Express Toll Lanes Project is one project that makes up the I-405/SR 167 Corridor Program, along with more than 150 unique, coordinated projects.
Renton to Bellevue Widening and Express Toll Lanes Project
The Renton to Bellevue project is designed to reduce congestion and improve safety performance along one of the state’s most congested sections of highway. The project will add new capacity to create a two-lane express toll lanes system between SR 167 in Renton and Northeast Sixth Street in Bellevue.
Federal court injunction for fish passage
WSDOT has been working for many years to remove fish passage barriers. Twenty-one northwest Washington tribes asked the U.S. District Court to find that the State of Washington has a treaty-based duty to preserve fish runs, and sought to compel the state to repair or replace culverts that impede salmon migration. The work to be completed in this project, combined with that being completed in the Renton to Bellevue project, is part of the 2013 U.S. District Court ruling requiring the state to remove fish barriers.
