We love a project that improves freight mobility and benefits our future tidal wetland for salmon and other wildlife! Thanks to a grant from the Pierce County Flood Control Zone District, The Northwest Seaport Alliance completed the first phase of the Wapato Creek Bridge and Culvert Removal Project.

The bridge officially reopened for traffic Feb. 1, allowing truck drivers to safely enter Pierce County Terminal’s queuing lot from Alexander Avenue. Replacing a failing, undersized culvert with a bridge will further enhance our Lower Wapato Creek Habitat Project, located just upstream, by improving tidal flow, water quality and fish passage.

It’ll also reduce the potential for upstream flooding during periods of high tide/flow, decreasing the risk of flood damage to critical upstream infrastructure when the fish-friendly habitat site is completed.

The second phase of the project will include removing the culvert.