Skagit River highway protection

A big part of my job is working to help communities and river processes co-exist and a lot of the time to do that it involves recommending infrastructure or private property relocate out of the floodplain and channel migration. However sometimes, that isn't feasible and you have to figure out how communities and rivers can co-exist is close proximity.

WSDOT was faced with this dilemia at the intersection of HWY 20 the Skagit River where the river had been eroding the right bank of the river and highway. For year the DOT had placed rock to help protect the highway with little effect. Following those efforts they implemented a project using large logs and concrete dolosse that was constructed in 2014. So far after a very wet winter things are looking good but only time will tell...