Western Federal Lands Highway Division

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service, proposes to repair flood-damaged sites, and abandon and rehabilitate sections, of Forest Highway 26, known as Suiattle River Road.

The project would reopen vehicle access to National Forest recreation opportunities of 7 popular trailheads, 2 campgrounds, a rental cabin, dispersed camping, hunting, fishing and gathering, as well as upgrade access to State, private, and Tribal lands.

For information on the history of Suiattle Road #26, see the Mount Baker- Snoqualmie National Forest website: http://fs.usda.gov/mbs.

Proposed Actions

The proposal would repair flood damage, re-establish vehicle access, and abandon and rehabilitate sections of Suiattle Road 26:

• Milepost 6.0: Reroute the road for about 2500 feet, with realignment of about 375 to 400 feet inland from the eroded Suiattle River bank. The old roadway would be abandoned and rehabilitated with mitigations for associated wetlands and flood plain reconnection.
• Milepost 12.6: Reconstruct the road 1200 to 1300 feet, with an offset of up to 70 feet from the existing road.

• Milepost 13 and 13.5: Reroute around the two washouts with a realignment of approximately 1.1 mile of road upslope of Road 26 and away from the Suiattle River.

  The reroute will use Forest Service Road 2670 (0.5 mile) and new road construction through second growth and mature forest to reconnect to Road 26. This reroute starts at MP 12.7 (Road 2670) and reconnects with Road 26 at MP 13.7. Approximately 1 mile of Road 26 would be abandoned and rehabilitated, with associated wetlands and flood plains reconnected.

• Milepost 14.4: Align the roadway for a length of about 900 feet, 55 to 90 feet away from the eroded river bank. The Huckleberry trailhead and parking would be re-established, and the temporary reroute road abandoned and rehabilitated.
• Milepost 20.8: Reconstruct the road for about 350 feet by moving the roadway into the hillside. All work will be outside of the ordinary high water mark for the Suiattle River.
• Milepost 20.9: Construct a series of bridge extension to cross the Downey Creek floodplain to the existing bridge. Remove fill and culvert in bridge approach to accommodate flood flows and channel processes across the floodplain.
• Milepost 22.9: Repair the bridge approach with a concrete faced retaining wall built at the edge of the Sulphur Creek Bridge deck and keyed to the bank.

Proposed Time Frames

• Currently no decisions have been made.
• The proposal would include potential detours and closures as well as road repairs.
• The proposed repair and rehabilitation are anticipated to take two or three summers to complete.
• The proposed years for activities are 2012 through 2014.

How You Can Get Involved

• Attend the public meeting at the Everett Firefighters Association March 29th, 2012 from 6:00pm to 8:30p.m.
• Review and comment on the Environmental Assessment (EA). Send comments by April 20, 2012 to: Email: wfl.suiattleriverroad@dot.gov or to the mailing address: Western Federal Lands Highway Division, Attn: Denise Steele, 610 E Fifth Street, Vancouver, WA 98661.

• EA copies can be requested from the contacts above or downloaded from the FHWA and Forest Service website. Hard copies will be available to read at the Darrington, and Everett Libraries. Hard copies for distribution are available at the Darrington Forest Service office.

  Comments received in response to this notice, including names and addresses if provided, will become part of the Project Record and available for public review.

Documents and Updates

• Project Map
• Suiattle Road Repairs Pamphlet  (Acrobat, 276 KB)