The celebration marks nearly two decades of planning, fundraising, and construction of the new bridge and another that opened in 2012 on South Kingston Road, adjacent to Arness Park. The bridges replaced culverts that girdled Puget Sound tidal flow between Appletree Cove and the Carpenter Creek estuary, impacting the nearshore ecosystem, an important rest stop for salmon migrating in and out of central and south Puget Sound. With the opening of the upper salt marsh by replacing a five-foot diameter culvert and road embankment with a 150-foot span bridge, the project restores natural functioning and an additional 10 acres of estuary habitat, accessible to salmon and other wildlife.
As part of an agreement with the Suquamish Tribe, the Navy provided nearly $3 million for the West Kingston Road bridge as a portion of its mitigation for a maintenance pier at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. The remainder of the $4.6 million West Kingston bridge project that also included upgrades to utilities running under the bridge, was funded by Kitsap County Public Works road and sewer funds, and Kitsap Public Utility District #1. The state legislature and the Army Corps of Engineers funded the South Kingston bridge project.
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