The removal of fish barriers along State Route 8 likely will see the highway impacted for about two years. Those most impacted by the changes will be the residents of McCleary and commuters traveling past the city.

In order to accommodate construction and ensure safety, the west exit to the city of McCleary at Elma McCleary Road will be closed for the duration of the project.

“The project will close the SR 8 access to and from SR 108 for the entire two years — around the clock — every day,” said Claudia Bingham Baker, communications manager with the Washington State Department of Transportation. “The reason is safety. We will be realigning and reducing SR 8 to one lane in each direction at that location for the full two years, which made an SR 8 merge to and from SR 108 unacceptably risky. We will be diverting traffic to the nearby SR 8 Mox/Chehalis interchange instead.”

Last month, a bid for construction was awarded to Ceccanti Inc. of Tacoma at a little more than $10.7 million. The total project will cost some $17 million.

The project will enhance fish passages where State Route 8 crosses Wildcat Creek. The existing 20-foot span, 25-foot-tall, 126-foot-long concrete two-sided fish passages will be replaced with two bridges, each 110 feet in length. In total, two culverts will be replaced with four bridges. The replacement will provide the minimum recommended 38-foot span over the creek channel.

According to the state Department of Transportation, the project is necessary to comply with a 2013 federal injunction that requires the state to correct fish barriers.

Construction will begin in April.