Difficult site conditions and challenging work have again delayed the opening of State Route 203 in Duvall. The road is now forecast to open at 5 a.m., Friday, Aug. 28, instead of Thursday, or the originally scheduled Tuesday, Aug. 25.

Contractor crews working for the Washington State Department of Transportation are replacing a 6- by 6-foot culvert that carries Coe-Clemons Creek under the highway with a 12- by 25-foot culvert. In the process, they faced completing a lot of work in a restricted space during a short amount of time.

In addition to some equipment breakdowns during excavation, crews found the work to dig down 35 feet deep in an old road embankment and construct a new culvert to be more difficult than expected. Poor soils coupled with a high water table, timbers from a bridge possibly built in the early 1900s, concrete under the highway asphalt and several large boulders that weighed close to a ton all contributed to delaying the completion of this project.

“This is difficult and challenging work, and sometimes things don’t go completely as planned,” said WSDOT Project Engineer Dave Lindberg. “We appreciate the patience of the folks who live in Duvall and drivers who use SR 203 regularly.”

Detour routes While the highway remains closed between Northeast Valley Street and Northeast Kennedy Drivethere are two detour routes available:

For vehicles heading into Duvall, drivers can bypass the construction by taking Northeast Valley Street or Northeast Kennedy Drive, turning east into Duvall and following detour signs. Businesses are open and accessible.

For vehicles not stopping in Duvall, drivers can follow the signed detour to West Snoqualmie Road Northeast via Northeast 124th Street and Northeast Woodinville-Duvall Road. The detour will add approximately 10 minutes of travel time through the area.