On June 2, 2014, the King County Sheriff’s Office is closing a section of the Snoqualmie River often popular with summertime floaters and boaters. The closure is expected to last four months.
The two-mile closure starts just downstream of the State Route 202 bridge in Fall City and runs to a point about one mile upstream of the Neal Road boat ramp.
The Fall City Natural Area and adjacent Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife property will also be closed during this period.
Vehicle traffic on Neal Road might experience some delays due to periodic lane closures within the project area. Truck traffic will also increase at times along Neal Road south of the project site.
The King County Sheriff’s Office says the two-mile closure will protect boaters and floaters from possible dangers associated with construction taking place along this section of the Snoqualmie River connected to the Upper Carlson Floodplain Restoration Project.
During the summer construction project, the King County Water and Land Resources Division will restore natural river processes by removing a 1,600 foot-long levee and constructing a modern flood-hazard protection structure along Neal Road Southeast. Project work will help restore the river’s natural connection to about 50 ares of forested floodplain, as well as protect nearby homes and roads.
The project will help restore river habitat for the threatened Snoqualmie Chinook salmon populations (as well as other salmon species and threatened steelhead) that were identified in the 2007 federal Puget Sound Salmon Recovery Plan.
King County anticipates re-opening this stretch of the Snoqualmie River at the beginning of October.
