A King County bridge under construction, a stream reconnected, and a single, determined fish inspiring millions online.

These are the elements of an extraordinary story made possible by the King County Road Services Division, whose 26-second clip of a fish fighting upstream on Boise Creek on the Enumclaw Plateau turned viral overnight.

Road Services crews are in the area for the Boise X Connection Bridge replacement project, two miles south of Enumclaw on SE Mud Mountain Road. The work involves replacing a two-lane, 67-foot-long bridge built in 1956 that by today’s standards couldn’t safely support the weight of heavy fire engines, among other concerns.

Construction on this much-needed safety project began in June. To protect the Boise Creek from construction debris, the creek was diverted into large tubes.  Roads relocated the bridge’s supports farther from the stream, allowing it more space to move. Crews also installed large wood pieces and streambed gravel to improve fish habitat.

Once crews reconnected the stream earlier this month, it set the scene for a Hollywood-style story about a scrappy fish and its long, against-all-odds journey. Only this wasn’t Nemo, or even Humpy of Seattle Mariners fame.

The hero of this tale: a nameless Chinook salmon.

Adam Ausen of the Road Services team began recording as the fish wiggled its way against the stream and nearby rocks. Its head splashing in and out of the water and exposing a reddish underside, the fish jackknifed its body to fight through a punishing current.

I was extremely shocked to see that large of a fish swimming up the creek so soon. We just removed the stream diversion a few working days prior. I have seen a lot of salmon return on other projects but usually from a distance. This time I was lucky to have been right on the bank when this happened. It was incredibly rewarding to see our streambed restoration work come to life in real time. – Adam Ausen, King County Road Services Division

The video ends with the fish climbing past this rocky, shallow portion of Boise Creek and submerging underneath a rippled surface, en route to the next phase of a perilous journey.

Where exactly was that and or what did it entail? Who knows?

What’s clear is that once the video got posted to the Department of Local Services’ Facebook and Instagram pages, people connected with the fish and its journey. At the time of this writing, the video has a combined:

  • 4.6 million views
  • 41 thousand interactions
  • 189 comments

For many in the comments, the video opened their eyes to the journeys salmon must make from riverbeds at birth, all the way to the ocean. Some examples:

  • “The story behind this hardworking salmon climbing up the river is the most fascinating thing a human could know.”
  • “Bet that fish is glad when it hits deeper water because that looks like a hell of a lot of work”
  • “The story of a salmon’s life is quite heroic.”

For others, the video reminded them of the important work of the Road Services Division, which received several kudos in the comments:

  • “Build it [or in this case unbuild it] and they will come. Nice work!”
  • “Important work, well done.”
  • “Looks like the salmon gave the renovation five stars.”

And for one commenter, it was simply a story with a happy ending: “This video was the highlight of my day. Thank you!!!!”

All of it made possible by the King County Road Services Division.

For more information about the Boise X Connection Bridge replacement project, visit http://kingcounty.gov/BoiseXBridge.