The new 43-foot Buck Bay Bridge on Orcas has been completed.

Traffic began crossing the bridge on Wednesday, Sept. 28. The official bridge opening will be celebrated on-site at noon on Oct. 20 with county and state officials. The public is encouraged to attend.

The new bridge replaces a roadway fill where Cascade Creek flowed through two culverts. The new stream channel is 18 feet wide. The culverts were sometimes overwhelmed by the stream’s flow resulting in flooding of and damage to the roadway. Additionally, the culverts were an obstacle to fish passage.

Razz Construction of Bellingham won the construction contract in April of this year and used several local suppliers and sub-contractors. Final work on vegetation restoration will be complete by Oct. 21.

A State Salmon Recovery Funding Board grant of $472,000 helped pay for the improvements with the county providing matching funds.

For more project information, contact Dan Vekved at Public Works 370-0504 or danv@sjcpublicworks.org.

For more background on the bridge, read the Sounder’s 2004 coverage of the issue.