Community Transportation
Gorst culvert projects will delay drivers starting next spring
The Washington State Department of Transportation announced plans to remove several culverts in Gorst and Port Orchard, projects which will cause traffic headaches for drivers headed to and from Kitsap County.
Construction on the projects will begin next spring, WSDOT announced Tuesday, Dec. 9.
WSDOT announced five culvert-replacement projects. Two will impact drivers traveling between Gig Harbor and Bremerton: Projects over Kabelac Creek and a Ross Creek tributary, both just east of Gorst.
All told, WSDOT expects the projects to cost $192 million.
This WSDOT map shows the locations of five culvert-replacement projects that will begin in 2026.
Kabelac Creek is between Gorst and the Highway 166 interchange. Ross Creek is between Highway 166 and the Tremont Street exit in Port Orchard.
WSDOT also plans culvert work on Gorst Creek and one of its tributaries, both between Gorst and Belfair; and Olney Creek in Port Orchard.
WSDOT is currently conducting an online survey about its plans. Click here to participate.
Kabelac Creek
According to the department’s news release, work on the Kabelac Creek culvert replacement will begin with site preparation in spring 2026. Construction — involving installation of a box culvert — will occur in the spring and fall of next year and wrap up in late fall or early winter.
WSDOT plans a four-lane bypass road, with a reduced speed limit, to take drivers through the construction zone.
WSDOT plans to replace a culvert carrying Kabelac Creek under Highway 16 starting in spring 2026. A temporary bypass road will carry drivers through the construction zone.
Ross Creek tributary
A more extensive project will take place over a Ross Creek tributary, a little farther east of Kabelac Creek. Construction of a new bridge there will take two summers, WSDOT said.
Site preparation on the Ross Creek tributary also begins next spring. Another bypass road will take drivers around the construction zone starting in summer 2026. WSDOT hopes to have traffic on the new bridge by fall.
Work under the bridge — restoring the tributary and installing landscaping — will stretch into the fall of 2027 and require “intermittent shoulder and lane closures.”
WSDOT plans to replace a culvert carrying a tributary of Ross Creek under Highway 16. The dashed line shows the detour for bicyclists and pedestrians. A temporary bypass will carry drivers through the construction zone.
Culvert replacements
Washington state has focused on replacing culverts to improve fish passage for more than a decade. A 2013 federal court injunction, following action by 21 Northwest Washington tribes, requires the state to do so.
A U.S. District Court judge ruled in March 2013 that many culverts restrict fish passage, violating tribal fishing rights guaranteed by 19th century treaties. As of June, the state has “corrected 176 injunction barrier culverts and improved access to 655 miles of blocked salmon and steelhead habitat,” according to the state’s project page.
The state faces a deadline of opening up 90% of culvert-restricted habitat by 2030. Lawmakers expect that to cost $5 billion, according to the Washington State Standard.
WSDOT photo showing Gorst from the air.
Previous local projects
Drivers traveling between Gig Harbor and Kitsap County are familiar with the work.
Just this spring, the state finished replacing a culvert that carried Purdy Creek under Highway 16. That project — installing a 206-foot-long bridge in each direction — took nearly three years of work.
Not far away, the state also replaced a culvert under the Highway 302 Spur and others that carried Minter Creek and Little Minter Creek under Highway 302.
Meanwhile, WSDOT is still completing work replacing a culvert that carries Blackjack Creek under Highway 16 near Port Orchard.
In 2016, the department installed box culverts to carry Anderson Creek under Highway 16, also near Gorst.
The eastbound Highway 16 bridge over Purdy Creek casts a shadow across the creek and plantings. Photo by Ed Friedrich
