Birch Bay Drive & Pedestrian Facility Project

Artist rendering of completed project

Rendering of Path Type I on Berm
Rendering of Path Type II Adjacent to Paving

  1. Birch Bay Drive work shifts to 4pm-2am this week

    The week of Oct. 19-23, Granite will work from 4pm to 2am. Drivers should expect single-lane closures. Dump trucks will deliver gravel along the west side of Birch Bay Drive. Please avoid the area to reduce your chances of being delayed by construction.

  2. Birch Bay Drive Project Update for Oct. 12-15

    Drivers should expect single-lane closures as Granite works from 5 am to 5 pm Oct. 12-15. Read on...

  3. Birch Bay Drive Update for the Week of Oct. 5

    Starting the week of Oct. 5, construction work will be from 7 am to 5 pm. Drivers should expect single lane closures Monday through Thursday. Read on...
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Project Summary

This project will restore the natural shoreline, protect the roadway from storm damage, and support pedestrian safety with a separated berm that runs from the mouth of Terrell Creek (Lora Lane) to Cedar Avenue approximately 1.58 miles in length along the beach. The project will be constructed over two seasons concluding in April 2021.

Project Details:

Status: Construction began December 9, 2019 and will continue through March 2020 for this first project season. The project will resume in August 2020.

  • Contract Awarded: Yes
  • Contract Amount: $8,724,841.00
  • Contractor: Granite Construction, Inc.

Project Updates - Construction Schedule:  

9/18/2020 

  • Drivers will continue to see single-lane road closures along Birch Bay Drive the week of Sept. 21-25.
  • Granite will add gravel paving to the path between Lora Lane and the Bay Breeze Restaurant Sept. 22-23. We ask that the public stay away from the area and off the path on those days.
  • Drivers will see additional traffic impacts the week of Sept. 28-Oct. 2 near the Birch Bay Chamber of Commerce building. We will temporarily divert a stream and drivers will need to drive SLOWLY over a small ramp on the road that protects pipes pumping stream water.

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  1. Project Description
  2.            News Flash          

Soft Shore Protection

Construction contract is planned to be awarded November 2019 with major elements of the project's 1st phase (soft shore protection) includes the following:
Project Limits: Lora Lane to Cedar Avenue, 1.58 miles
Remove the rip rap, sea walls, groins, and bulkheads along Birch Bay Drive and replace them with a "natural" soft shore beach; reestablishing the beach profile and improving flood protection for the roadway and adjacent structures; this will improve habitat functions and the currently disrupted natural littoral drift of the beach.
Replace and retrofit substandard stormwater facilities and out falls to improve water quality for this significant shellfish area.
Provide beach access and a pedestrian facility as a portion of the Coast Millennium Trail.
Project construction will be over two seasons; September 2017 - May 2018 and September 2018 - May 2019. These work windows were established to avoid construction during the summer high tourism season at Birch Bay and in-water work windows established by environmental permits.



Other Project Information