How will SR 3 closures affect traffic near the Purdy Bridge?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Part of SR 3 near Sunnyslope Road Northwest in Gorst will close June 13–29.
- The truck detour adds about 15 miles to the typical route via SR 3.
- WSDOT says 1,500 to 1,800 commercial vehicles use SR 3 daily.
A fish barrier removal project north of Pierce County will require hundreds of trucks to take detours, with the biggest vehicles redirected to a 28-mile route that goes through Purdy and Wauna.
From 7 a.m. Saturday, June 13 to 7 a.m. Monday, June 29, crews will close both directions of state Route 3 near Sunnyslope Road Northwest in the Gorst area, according to a Washington State Department of Transportation news release last month.
The release asks travelers to take one of three detours:
- Regular drivers can take Sunnyslope Road Northwest and Southwest Lake Flora Road.
- Pedestrians, bikers and folks on wheels can use Northeast Old Belfair Highway/West Belfair Valley Road.
- Commercial vehicle drivers are asked to take a lengthy detour via state Routes 302 and 16.
“The highway will remain open to residential and business travelers north and south of the closure, but no through traffic will be allowed,” the release says.
The commercial vehicle detour is the only route that extends into Pierce County. Beginning from the Gorst area, the detour runs south to Purdy via state Route 16, then turns onto the Purdy Bridge via state Route 302 and continues toward Wauna and Vaughn before rejoining state Route 3 north of Allyn.
The road leading up the Purdy Bridge is prone to traffic backups during rush hour, often seeing long lines of cars forming on the off-ramp from state Route 16 to state Route 302, The News Tribune reported. A reporter asked WSDOT via email if the truck detour is expected to cause serious delays for motorists, particularly from the SR 16 off-ramp to 302 and approaching the Purdy Bridge to Wauna.
“We do not anticipate significant backups from freight traffic on SR 16 because they do not need to go through Purdy to get to Gorst,” WSDOT spokesperson Angela Cochran wrote in an email Wednesday. “There may be a slight increase from trucks that are traveling between Belfair and Gorst, but that would mostly be in the eastbound direction. Trucks going toward Belfair from westbound SR 16 would be taking this route anyway.”
The detour adds about 15 miles to the typical 13-mile route via state Route 3, Cochran wrote.
The News Tribune also asked how many trucks the detour is expected to add to the state Route 16 and 302 areas. Cochran wrote that an average of 1,500 to 1,800 trucks travel on state Route 3 in the Gorst area each day, making up about 8% of all daily vehicle traffic. However, she noted that this number “includes box trucks, buses, garbage trucks and other commercial vehicles that can use the local road detour.”
“Only heavy truck and trailer traffic needs to use the truck detour, and we expect many of those to use SR 16 and I-5,” she wrote.
Sheri Call is president and CEO of Washington Trucking Associations, which serves and advocates for truck operators throughout the state. The detour will more than double the distance between Belfair and Gorst for commercial vehicles, she wrote in an email Wednesday.
“As with any detour related to road closures, the industry should plan for increased operating costs from additional mileage and fuel consumption, added driver time, impacts of congestion along the detour routes, impacts to deliveries serving affected areas, and potential delays for time sensitive freight during the closure,” she wrote. “An early heads up is helpful for industry and the motoring public to plan and ensure safety during closure events to prevent accidents as a result of unfamiliar routes and excessive traffic.”
Cochran explained that WSDOT worked with Kitsap County to settle on the best detour routes for all travelers. Commercial vehicle drivers looking to take county roads will need to check with the county for any restrictions, she wrote.
“The closure will mainly affect truck drivers who need to travel through Shelton or Belfair since others can take SR 16 and I-5 to bypass SR 3,” she wrote.
While roads are closed, WSDOT crews will remove and replace a culvert under state Route 3, south of Gorst, according to the news release. Culverts are tunnels or pipes commonly found under roadways, allowing streams to pass underneath but often posing barriers to fish migration.
“During the closure, crews will install a large prefabricated concrete culvert and build a natural creek bed to make it easier for fish to travel up and downstream,” the release says. “Crews will work double shifts to get the work done as quickly as possible.”
The project in the Gorst area is part of a $192.6 million project to replace five outdated culverts under state Routes 3, 16 and 166 in Kitsap County, per the project webpage. WSDOT estimates completing construction by early winter 2029.
These culverts are just a few of hundreds the state is required to fix after Washington tribes with treaty-protected fishing rights sued the state to restore salmon habitat blocked by culverts in 2001. The U.S. Supreme Court later ruled the state needed to address the most serious fish barriers by 2030, The News Tribune reported.
Drivers can visit WSDOT’s real-time travel map for up-to-date information on closures and traffic delays. An online open house contains more information about the fish barrier removal project in the Gorst and Port Orchard areas.
