PORT ANGELES — The Hood Canal Bridge, a crucial link to the Olympic Peninsula, is now the focus of growing talks about its future — and its impact on struggling salmon. Clallam County has been asked to join the steering team shaping those discussions.
Shaara Ainsley with the non profit Long Live the Kings briefed Clallam County commissioners this week on the multi-agency effort to study the bridge’s impact on migrating salmon and steelhead — and explore long-term solutions.
“The bridge is basically acting as a barrier to young salmon and steelhead,” Ainsley said. “As they migrate out, they’re swimming right at the surface. When they encounter the bridge, they either don’t realize they can swim underneath it — which would require diving much deeper than their body size — or they can’t do it at all. So, they end up swimming back and forth, searching for gaps near the shore. Meanwhile, harbor seals have figured out it’s an easy place to catch these confused fish.”
The current focus is two-fold: testing short-term improvements to help fish navigate past the existing structure and launching long-term discussions about potential redesigns.
“As we look at other options, we can look across the world to Europe,” Ainsley said. “The engineering challenges posed by the Hood Canal are similar to the deep fjords in Norway. They also have salmon in Norway, and they’re starting to explore different designs for floating bridges in Norway.”
That Norwegian example shows how bridges could be constructed with wider gaps between pontoons to allow water and fish to pass, along with raised sections for vessel clearance.
The Hood Canal study, funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, includes a Community Needs Assessment led by engineering firm HDR and early conceptual design work.
Ainsley stressed this isn’t a formal construction plan but a first step to gather public input and prepare for future decisions. A steering team — with members from the Navy, WSDOT, Jefferson and Kitsap counties, and several tribes — is guiding the process.
Clallam County Commissioner Mike French expressed interest in representing the county.
The first workshops are set for July 10 and 17, with a final report expected by March 2027.