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The Road to Recovery
Kitsap County Public Works responds to record flooding

(Port Orchard) — County road crews are back to regular work shifts after the early December storm wreaked havoc on the road system. “Over 250 county-maintained roads were closed or restricted during the height of the storm,” according to Public Works Director Randy Casteel. “The hard work by County crews and local contractors over the past two weeks has restored almost all of the damaged roads,” Casteel said. 

Three roads remain closed by storm damage. Illahee Road is closed between Varsity and California where the road disappeared. Chico Way is closed where the bridge was damaged, and Mountain View Road is closed at Clear Creek where it washed out.

The response from Public Works actually began with the snow on Saturday, December 1. Road crews reported to work that Saturday afternoon to begin snow and ice procedures. Crews worked overnight Saturday and all day Sunday responding to the snow. “Some areas had snow accumulations of more than a foot,” said Steve Cates, Central Area Assistant Supervisor. Crews worked through the night clearing roads.

By Sunday afternoon and early evening the snow turned to rain. The first reports of water over the roadway and minor flooding came in overnight Sunday. Monday morning brought increasing rain and plows were now plowing flood water, mud and storm debris trying to keep roads clear. The unprecedented rain, coupled with snow melt and high tides caused flooding in places where flooding had never happened. Crews were now working 12-hour shifts around-the-clock responding to the disaster.

Emergency response agencies were swamped with calls from worried residents. Staff for The Open Line, Public Works’ customer support phone line, answered over 1,000 calls on Monday alone. Extra staff from roads administration, support services, and the survey division helped answer calls.

Parts of the approach to the Taylor Road bridge gave way when storm debris created a log jam upstream. “Water hit the logjam and diverted around the stream channel. This caused extensive erosion resulting in the damage,” said Don Schultz, County Road Superintendent. The damage cut off access for local residents, a community social agency, and a local private school. Pedestrian traffic was restored by Thursday, and vehicle traffic restored soon thereafter.

On Miami Beach Road in Seabeck a sinkhole closed the road . Schultz and County engineers assessed the damage early Tuesday and by 11:00 that morning Sound Excavating was already at work on repairs. One lane of traffic was restored by 2 p.m., and the other lane opened later that afternoon.

About a mile up the road another washout at Seabeck Holly and Foley closed the road there. “We called Ace Paving for help at 10:00 a.m. Tuesday and by 1:00 p.m. Tuesday afternoon they were already at work onsite,” said Schultz. The road opened to traffic at midnight Tuesday.

The same thing happened at the closure at Hite Center. Ace Paving was able to start work Tuesday afternoon. The 18” culvert there was replaced with a new 36” culvert. About 600 cubic yards of backfill material was used in the project. The road opened to traffic at 1:00 a.m. Wednesday morning. 

By Thursday most of the roads in South and North Kitsap were open, but there was still work to do. Crews from the Wastewater, Survey, Construction and Surface & Stormwater Divisions, along with crews from the County’s Parks Department, joined the road crews in a weekend blitz to get roads opened in Central Kitsap. By Monday (12/10) only the three major projects and a few isolated roads remained closed.

The last two weeks were spent cleaning up, repairing the lower priority damage, and finishing assessments on the damage to the three remaining closed roads. “These are major projects and require engineering and design work as we repair them,” according to Tina Nelson, Senior Program Manager for Engineering. Information about the progress of these projects, and anticipated timeline for repairs, can be found at The Road Report.

“I can't say enough about how our crews and local contractors worked together to get roads opened,” said Schultz. “Making repairs like this under optimal conditions always presents challenge. Doing it under disaster conditions creates heroes. The men and women of our crews, and the crews of our local contractors, deserve a medal for the work they’ve done,” said Schultz. 

The County Commissioners were also impressed with the work done. “After the storm our Public Works Department performed exceptionally well cleaning debris and opening roads in record time,” said Josh Brown. “The CK area was hardest hit and they stepped up to the plate to get the job done,” he continued. “It was like magic,” added Commissioner Steve Bauer.

Related Links:

The Road Report

Pictures of storm damage including
pictures before and after repairs

Kitsap County Public Works
The Open Line
(360) 337-5777 or (800) 825-4940
openline@co.kitsap.wa.us