Traffic is flowing again over the portion of Illahee Road lost in last December's storm. Although some finish work remains to be done, the stretch between Brownsville Elementary and University Point opened Thursday afternoon.
The record-breaking Dec. 3 deluge washed out a swath of street 120 feet long and 45 feet deep, taking with it an 18-inch, 70-year-old culvert.
Contractor RV & Associates of Port Orchard replaced the culvert with a new corrugated metal one that's 10-foot-wide and allows fish to pass, said Kitsap County Public Works spokesman Doug Bear. Gravel and boulders were placed in it to replicate a stream bed. About 18,000 cubic yards of material was needed to fill the hole around it.
The project cost $591,000, Bear said. Most of it will be paid for with federal funds. The money comes with a time-consuming permitting procedure, however, that stretched the project to more than 10 months. The county began designing the replacement culvert immediately after the storm, but the contractor didn't begin work until August. Once RV & Associates got on site, it needed just 40 working days to complete the job, Bear said.
"It's been a challenging project," said Kitsap County Commissioner Josh Brown, who took heat from residents frustrated by the delay. "I know it's been very inconvenient for area residents, and we appreciate their patience during the repairs."
Brown will host a community celebration at the site at 10 a.m. next Thursday at the site. He, Public Works officials and community members will speak.