Thurston County Public Works presented and the commissioners approved a resolution on Jan. 7 authorizing the county engineer to temporarily close Little Rock Road Southwest at the Blooms Ditch crossing for a single closure period not to exceed 12 weeks between July 1 and Oct. 1, 2025.

Keaton Forbes Kishani, senior civil engineer for Public Works, told commissioners the closure is needed to replace the L5 bridge as part of county project 61320 (Little Rock Road SW and 100th/13th Ave SW intersection improvements and L5 bridge replacement). Public Works said right-of-way constraints and fish-window limitations make a full closure the safest, least expensive, and quickest option to replace the bridge.

A designated detour route will use 100th and 13th Avenue SW, Case Road SW and 93rd Avenue SW. Public Works said the segment near Blooms Ditch sees an average daily traffic of about 7,000 vehicles; the total detour length is 7.5 miles and will add about 12 to 15 minutes of travel time. The county will prepare a communication plan to notify local residents, emergency responders and the school district.

The motion authorized the resolution; commissioners approved it by voice vote. Public Works said a similar detour was used in 2014 for a neighboring bridge replacement and that messaging to stakeholders will begin promptly.