What’s up with all the construction hullabaloo near East Valley Highway in Sumner?
If you drive along East Valley Highway in Sumner, you might notice construction happening on the old golf course next to the warehouses.
Crews have been excavating since July to make progress on the city’s White River restoration project. The project aims to mitigate the risk of flooding and enhance habitat for species including salmon.
The project is divided into four parts: the bridge, setback levee, point bar and habitat. The excavation work is for the habitat part. The plan is to finish the first phase by the end of October and begin the second phase in 2025.
The habitat portion costs about $102.84 million, The News Tribune reported in January 2022. The bridge portion costs $30 million, the setback levee portion $25.73 million and the point bar portion $20.73 million.
For the habitat work, about 200 acres of land northeast of 105 24th Street East will turn into a natural area with pathways for the river to flow through. The Sumner Link Trail will also be relocated near the railroad tracks.
“What happens is when we get all that water that can’t sit in the river, it will direct it into this area and it’ll go through those side channels, so we have more capacity in the river,” former public works director Mike Dahlem told The News Tribune in January 2022.
The river is at risk of flooding every year because the water level rises as sediment and debris from Mount Rainier get stuck on the bottom over time.
The river can only hold about 4,000 cubic feet of water per second. Previously, it held about 20,000 cubic feet per second, The News Tribune reported. Cubic feet per second is a measurement used for the volume and speed of water flow.
The change in water flow affects fish such as Chinook salmon, steelhead trout and bull trout.
Discussions about flood protection and habitat restoration began in 2015. The city has been working with groups such as the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe and Puyallup Tribe of Indians, The News Tribune reported.
This story was originally published September 6, 2024 at 5:15 AM.
