Update: WSDOT has delayed the SR 169 bypass route to open on Jan. 13, the agency announced Jan. 6.

King County Metro is mostly back to normal after reducing routes last week due to snow, meaning the DART 915 route between Auburn and Enumclaw has returned to regular service.

Meanwhile, drivers using SR 169 should prepare for the temporary bypass between Black Diamond and Maple Valley to kick in starting Jan. 13. That change is part of a project this year to build a new bridge over Ravensdale Creek that will hopefully make life easier for our gill-bearing friends commuting underneath the highway.

(The Washington State Department of Transportation originally planned to activate the bypass route on Friday, Jan. 7 but delayed the move to the following Thursday.)

Ravensdale creek currently flows under SR 169 through an 82-foot long culvert at milepost 10. But the culvert is narrow, and during spawning season, the water moves too quickly for salmon and other fish to swim upstream.

WSDOT contractor crews plan to replace that culvert with a bridge, opening up the creek and surrounding wetlands. They’ll also remove another culvert about 200 feet downstream, leaving an open channel behind, correct a fish barrier about 350 feet downstream and build a new bridge for a hiking trail in the area. All told, the work should open up 2.4 miles of new habitat for Chinook and coho salmon, steelhead and other fishes.

On Friday, Jan. 7, the highway will shift onto a 1,000-foot-long bypass built on an old highway right-of-way through the Black Diamond Natural Area. That will allow crews to start building the new bridge and bringing down the culverts.