Submitted by San Juan County.

San Juan County is pleased to share updates on the Bayhead Creek Culvert Repair Project on Killebrew Lake Road on Orcas Island. This project seeks to address damage from a 2020 storm that overwhelmed the culvert under Killebrew Lake Road and required a temporary fix. Now, the County is required by state law to replace the temporary culvert with a larger, permanent and fish-passable design. Funding for this project comes from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and expires in early 2026. This spring, Tiger Construction was awarded the contract for replacing the culvert and will begin construction in early September.

Project scope

The County’s project team used public feedback from community meetings to develop two designs for the project that were submitted in the bid packet for contractors. The County received three bids (find tabulation and summaries at https://www.sanjuancountywa.gov/2174/Current-Bid-Documents) that all demonstrated that a full road closure (as opposed to a single-lane bypass) was most feasible and affordable. This spring, the contract was awarded to Tiger Construction who chose the construction window beginning after Labor Day weekend.

The chosen project design significantly reduces the construction window from what was proposed in 2023 – reducing overall project time by 50% (three months to 45 days) and reducing road closure time by 90% (90 days to nine days).

Construction will begin on Killebrew Lake Road on Tuesday, Sept. 2, and is expected to last until mid-October. The exact dates of the full road closure will be announced when the construction schedule is finalized.

Next steps

Over the coming months, the County will focus on communicating with residents about the impending work. Information will be available at the construction site, around Orcas Landing (Village Store and post office), and via mailed and electronic communications. The County will continue to work with emergency service providers to establish plans for emergency access during the road closure.

View project details, download past presentations and watch community meeting recordings at https://engage.sanjuancountywa.gov/bayhead-killebrew-culvert. Additional questions can be directed to project manager Tyler Davis at tylerd@sanjuancountywa.go