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November 3, 2025

Fish passage nearly finished beneath Ballinger Way in Lake Forest Park

By LISA LANNIGAN
Editor

Johansen Construction photo, via Facebook [enlarge]
This photo from July shows crews preparing for sewer work on Ballinger Way Northeast. This section of Ballinger has been closed since September as crews install a new fish passage.

Work is moving forward in Lake Forest Park on the removal of a fish passage barrier on state Route 104/Ballinger Way at Lyon Creek, just west of 35th Avenue Northeast.

The $8.71 million project began in early July, and while most of the work is set to finish this fall, some final paving and lane striping could move into the spring, depending on the weather. The Washington State Department of Transportation awarded a $7 million contract to Johansen Construction Co., of Sumner, for the work.

Crews are replacing an old 6-by-4-foot box culvert with a new 24-foot-wide structure. WSDOT says this could potentially open up more than 7.5 miles of habitat for Chinook, coho, steelhead, sockeye, sea-run cutthroat and resident trout.

All lanes of SR-104/Ballinger Way Northeast have been closed since early September. This week, crews are expected to finish the installation of the fish passage beneath the roadway and reopen all lanes to traffic by the end of the day this Friday.

WSDOT says that the sewer work on Northeast 185th Street and 35th Avenue Northeast will continue through November.

This is part of WSDOT’s larger fish passage program. The agency is replacing culverts and rebuilding stream channels to help expand fish habitat.
 

Lisa Lannigan can be reached by email or by phone at (206) 622-8272.




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