Rip-rap that that was removed as part of the North Sauk River Road project.
Rip-rap that that was removed as part of the North Sauk River Road project.

 

The North Sauk River Road project is located along right bank of the Sauk River, east of the Town of Darrington, off the Sauk Prairie Road. The roadway was damaged and washed out during the significant 2003 flood. After the USFS and Snohomish County restored driving access to private properties via the White Chuck River bridge from the south, it was determined that road abandonment and decommissioning would be an appropriate action for the remnant roadway.The abandoned segment of road was armored from the Sauk River by rip-rap, and ditches and culverts redirected hillside streams and runoff.

The project entailed removing 225 linear feet of rip-rap, removing a portion of the road bed itself, removing four culverts, restoring natural hillside grades, and ripping and replanting the compacted road bed. Removal of the road infrastructure and rip-rap will restore natural floodplain processes in the dynamic Sauk River corridor. Floodplain disturbances such as rip-rap, fill, dikes, and unneeded roads inhibit the formation of habitat used by Chinook salmon.

Project Status/Timeline
This project was constructed by SRSC, in partnership with Snohomish County Public Works, in late summer 2010.

Primary Project Contact
Nora Kammer – Restoration Ecologist

Funding Sources
Snohomish County Mitigation Funds

Project Partners
Snohomish County