Six-week road closure planned near Fall City

A section of the Issaquah-Fall City Road near Fall City will be closed Monday, June 25 through Friday, Aug. 3 for two sets of repairs. The road will be accessible for the majority of local residents, but motorists wishing to travel through could face a lengthy detour.

The King County Road Services Division will be replacing two aging and failing culverts that pass underneath the roadway. The project also involves lowering an existing 12-inch gas line to accommodate the new drainage structures.

The interiors of the old culverts are beginning to crack and lose their structural support, which could cause the roadway above to buckle. Stormwater rushing through the pipes has also caused erosion on the road shoulders.

During the closure, crews will be installing new, larger culverts that will better support the road and allow water to flow more freely reducing the amount of erosion on either end. Replacing the narrow culverts with larger ones will also improve local drainage and create better passage for fish and wildlife.

The road will be closed at 307th Avenue Southeast and at 308th Avenue Southeast, but the full detour will be lengthy because there are few cross streets. Motorists can detour via Southeast 40th Street, 308th Avenue Southeast, State Route 202, and 332nd Avenue Southeast.