SR 104/Ballinger Way NE is back open

Ballinger Way / SR 104 is open
Photo by David Carlos

SR 104/Ballinger Way NE is back open! The contractor reopened the road at about 8:15pm Saturday night, November 8, 2025.

The road reopening is a major milestone and the centerpiece of this project to remove a barrier to fish passage on Lyon Creek. Over the last few months, crews removed a 6-by-4-foot culvert that prevented fish from swimming upstream and replaced it with the 24-foot-wide bridge structure across Lyon Creek.

This work also opens nearly 7.5 miles of potential upstream habitat for native and migrating fish.

Photo by David Carlos

Here are some reminders as we prepare to finish out this project:

• First, we still have sewer work to complete on NE 185th Street and 35th Avenue NE. We expect our contractor will begin that work shortly, although I do not have a firm start date or preliminary end date to share at this time.
• Second, once that sewer work is complete, crews will restore and repave affected sections of NE 185th Street and 35th Avenue NE.
• Third, final paving and striping on SR 104, NE 185th Street and 35th Avenue NE will happen next spring, requiring a small number of lane closures to complete this work. Final paving will happen during a window of warm, dry weather that we need to install the final layers of asphalt.

The project website and Real-Time travel map continue to be good resources for this project and others happening throughout the region.