Temporary detour coming on Hwy 16 between Port Orchard and Gig Harbor
PURDY — Highway 16 between Port Orchard and Gig Harbor will be detoured during overnight closures for two days later this week, due to Washington State Department of Transportation's project replacing a 40-year-old culvert with bridges.
All eastbound lanes toward Gig Harbor and one westbound lane toward Port Orchard will close near the Purdy exit between 9 p.m. Friday, Feb. 23, to 7 a.m. on Saturday Feb. 24, and then from 9 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 24, to 8:30 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 25, according to WSDOT.
All eastbound lanes of Highway 16 will close at the Highway 302 exit and those driving east would detour via the Purdy Drive exit. The westbound lane of Highway 16 will reduce to one lane from 144th Street Northwest to the Highway 302 on-ramp, WSDOT said.
"Travelers are encouraged to add at least 10 minutes of travel time to get through the detour," according to the state agency.
Workers will use these time to set support beams for a new bridge, WSDOT said.
The construction that requires the road closure in late February is part of WSDOT's project to remove barriers and improve habitat and passage for fish in Purdy Creek.
The contractor crews worked for the agency will deliver and place six concrete bridge girders — each more than 200 feet long — as the backbone of a new 206-foot-long bridge. The bridge will replace an outdated culvert under the highway. WSDOT completed the westbound bridge late last summer, the agency said.
"The size of the concrete bridge girders and the equipment needed to place them require closing all eastbound lanes. The left westbound lane will also close so the trucks carrying the girders can access the work zone," according to WSDOT.
Purdy Creek is home to many types of fish, include juvenile Chinook, Coho salmon, Chum salmon, adult and juvenile steelhead, coastal cutthroat trout and sculpin, according to WSDOT.