Temporary fish ladder to help with migration

From ODOT-

In cooperation with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, our contractor installed a temporary fish ladder near the new Willamette River Bridge.

You may wonder what a fish ladder has to do with the new bridge. Let me explain.

A protected wetland fed by waters from Augusta Creek, Glenwood Slough and other local streams sits on the south bank of the Willamette River near the bridge. Currently, water from the wetland flows through a pipe under Franklin Boulevard to the river. Unfortunately, juvenile fish can’t get safely into the river because the pipe outlet is too high above the river. This also prevents mature fish from returning upstream to spawn.

Recently, biologists identified cutthroat trout upstream from the pipe outlet. We have built a fish ladder—a series of steps that helps fish swim around barriers—as a temporary solution to support the local fish population.

Our bridge project includes restoring the wetlands and stream system on the south bank of the Willamette River to enhance the natural setting and support fish and wildlife habitat. When the bridges are complete, we will restore the streams in the project area, remove culverts, create spawning ponds and reconstruct a historic stream channel outlet to allow for fish passage without needing a fish ladder.

Until then, the temporary fish ladder will allow cutthroat trout living in the waterways on the south bank of the Willamette River to move freely.