Big Timber Creek Culvert Replacement

Project Narrative

Steps necessary for implementing the Big Timber Creek Culvert Replacement project began in 2006. The biological assessment of the project was submitted to the to the National Marine Fisheries Service-NMFS- and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service-USFWS for Endangered Species Act consultation, and a cultural assessment to the State Historical Preservation Organization- SHPO. Concurrence letters were received from USFWS, NMFS and SHPO to proceed with project implementation. Permits necessary for project construction were secured from the Army Corp of Engineers and Idaho Dept. of Water Resources. Evaluation, engineering design, and construction were coordinated through the Idaho Transportation Department. Construction activities included removal of the existing 42 inch squash pipe, establishment of a base for the culvert footing, installation of the open bottomed box culvert, and back fill of the stream channel and surrounding culvert with borrow and material collected previously from the stream channel. Biolgists from the Idaho Department of Fish and Game were on site during construction to monitor construction and disturbance to natural resources.Replacing the road culvert at State Highway 28 will improve fish passage conditions for ESA listed juvenile and adult Chinook salmon and steelhead, and for ESA listed bull trout and other resident salmonid species that are migrating through the lower reaches of Big Timber Creek.