Weston-Champagne Cachagua Creek Fish Passage Project

This project will remedy a barrier to steelhead migration on Cachagua Creek. The site is a concrete ford, identified as the #2 Priority fish passage barrier in the Carmel River system. The project will remove existing concrete ford and replace it with a single span bridge in the same crossing alignment, designed to improve upstream migration conditions for steelhead. A fishway chute will be installed with the replacement. The project will also improve flood conveyance and provide safe vehicle access across Cachagua Creek to several private properties and the Boronda Creek Watershed.

The ford removal and replacement with a free span bridge will improve migration conditions in this important reach of Cachagua Creek for juvenile and adult steelhead trout at all modeled fish passage flows for access to 8.3 miles of upstream steelhead habitat and improve flood conveyance. The proposed bridge deck height will balance the streams function to pass smaller floods and fish passage flows with the risk of debris loading during very large floods.