Fauntleroy Creek culvert replacements: City announces October 2 meeting for 2-year 45th Avenue SW project

| Environment | Fauntleroy | West Seattle news

Separate from the upcoming emergency repair work on one of the culverts that carries Fauntleroy Creek underground, Seattle Public Utilities is ramping up for the 2-year project to replace another one, on 45th Avenue SW north of the Endolyne business district. At the meeting organized by the Fauntleroy Community Association earlier this summer (WSB coverage here), SPU promised a full community briefing/Q&A gathering, and they’ve just announced it will happen on October 2:

Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) is hosting a public meeting with light snacks in the Vashon Room at the Hall at Fauntleroy located at 9131 California Ave SW. The project team will share information and project updates about the 45th Ave SW Culvert Replacement Project on October 2, 2025 from 5:30 pm-6:30 pm!

There are three culverts on Fauntleroy Creek: a lower culvert at Fauntleroy Way SW, a middle culvert at 45th Ave SW, and an upper culvert at California Ave SW. SPU is implementing a phased program to replace two of these culverts, those at 45th Ave SW and at California Ave SW. The Fauntleroy Way Culvert [east of the ferry terminal] and associated fish ladder were built in the late 1990s and are not part of the Fauntleroy Creek Culverts Replacement Program.

The October public meeting is your opportunity to hear from the 45th Ave SW Culvert Replacement Project team and ask questions … The presentation will include a project overview, design update, and expected construction impacts during the two years of construction. In addition, you will hear status updates for the Emergency Culvert Repair work under California Ave SW.

SPU plans to replace the aging culvert under 45th Ave SW near SW Wildwood Pl. The culvert is a structure that channels Fauntleroy Creek under the roadway. Replacing this culvert will restore fish passage, reduce the risk of culvert failure, improve resilience to anticipated climate change, and provide safer working conditions for crews.
SPU also plans to replace the aging culvert under California Ave SW. As design begins for that project, SPU has determined that an emergency repair is necessary to establish stabilization until the culvert can be replaced with a fish-passage structure in the future.

More information can be found on the program website.

Here’s the city’s current timeline for this project: