Fish passage project brings big changes to 101/Shelton-Matlock Road

Changes are coming near Shelton where US 101 meets the Shelton-Matlock Road.

The Washington State Department of Transportation is alerting drivers that anyone traveling through the US 101/Shelton-Matlock Road interchange will be using two new ramps soon. 

According to their release, these new ramps will create “a more traditional diamond interchange” and are intended to assist fish moving through the area. 

The project is part of WSDOT’s effort to remove fish barriers around the state. The state agency says that removing barriers to fish at this interchange would have meant replacing culverts deep under both directions of US 101 as well as most of the interchange’s ramps.

 Instead, contractors will realign a portion of Coffee Creek and build about 2,000 feet of replicated natural streambed west of US 101 to send Coffee Creek into Goldsborough Creek.

The new southbound US 101 exit to Shelton-Matlock Road could open as early as the evening of Monday, Nov. 25.

When the new ramp opens, crews will shift Shelton-Matlock Road traffic onto a temporary two-lane bypass road as contractor crews create a new stream channel under Shelton-Matlock Road.

As soon as the week of Monday, Dec. 2, crews will also open the new Shelton-Matlock Road on-ramp to southbound US 101.

Weather conditions could adjust the timing of the work.