Stevens Creek Evelyn Avenue Fish Passage Improvement Project
The Stevens Creek Evelyn Avenue Fish Passage Improvement Project will improve Central California Coast Steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) fish passage in Stevens Creek to support spawning, rearing, and migration. This project will create a roughened channel with chutes and pools to mimic natural streams, add large wood features to enhance habitat, and stabilize eroding creek banks. The restored creek will extend from upstream of Evelyn Avenue to downstream of Central Expressway.
Construction is scheduled for Summer 2025 and Summer 2026, with maintenance as needed in 2027. By reconnecting Stevens Creek’s natural pathways, this project will improve stream stability and restore ecological balance.
Update June 22, 2026
The contractor has begun creek work for the project and will continue until October this year to complete construction. Over the summer months the construction contractor Graniterock will be installing a natural rock channel and habitat features to create fish passage on Stevens Creek from Evelyn Avenue to Central Expressway. No impacts to the Stevens Creek Trail are anticipated at this point, although trail users will see equipment accessing the site near the trailhead at Central Avenue. Fences will be in place to protect the public. Also, there will be trucks on Evelyn Avenue, Central Avenue and connecting streets hauling materials and equipment. Traffic safety precautions will be in place. If the contractor’s schedule or access plan changes, Valley Water will provide an update to this website.
Update September 29, 2025
The contractor has completed the planned creek work for the 2025 project and is now in the process of removing equipment from the creek and stabilizing the site for the winter. Construction for Phase 2 of the project will continue as planned from June 2026 to October 2026 to install the natural rock channel and other features. No impacts to the Stevens Creek Trail are anticipated at this point. If the contractor's schedule or access plan changes, Valley Water will provide an update to this website.
Update September 9, 2025
The construction contractor Granite Rock Company has begun construction as of September 8, 2025. Granite Rock Company at this time is not planning to access the Stevens Creek Trail for the project, so the trail will remain open and uninterrupted for the duration of construction. If the contractor’s access plan changes, Valley Water will provide an update to this website.
Activities this year will continue until October 15, 2025 and will include:
- Development of staging and access near Evelyn Avenue at the City of Mountain View lot under the trail bridge
- Installation of temporary creek protections for construction
- Cutting and removal of remnant steel sheet piles in the creek upstream (south) of the train bridges.
- Restoration of the creek bed, creek banks, and disturbed areas for erosion protection and winter stabilization.
After October 2025, construction for the next phase of the project will be from June 2026 to October 2026. This is the time when installation of the natural rock channel and other features will take place.
July 16, 2025, Pre-Construction Public Meeting
To view a recording of the meeting, click here.
To view the presentation, click here
For more information, please reach out to:
- Denis Ruttenberg at [email protected]
- Jiana Escobar at [email protected].