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May 25, 2016

Old 520 floating bridge won't be demolished on site in Kenmore

Photo from WSDOT [enlarge]
Demolition will take place on barges south of Kenmore. Debris will be barged to Kenmore where it will be transfered to trucks and shipped out of the city.

Kenmore City Council has approved a proposed agreement about where demolition of the old state Route 520 bridge will take place — or rather where it won't.

Demolition won't be done at the Kenmore Yard, where bridge contractor Kiewit/General/Manson spent four years fabricating and transporting components of the new floating bridge to the construction site on Lake Washington.

On March 14 KGM presented a demolition plan to the city that specified the yard as the place where the bridge would be decommissioned.

City Manager Rob Karlinsey said that was news to city officials at the time, and said it would violate city code and raise concerns about noise, dust and pollution.

The city denied the request, and KGM and property owner Lakepointe Inc./Pioneer Towing Co. sued. The city then challenged the environmental documents that were issued on April 20.

Signing of the agreement ends the lawsuits, according to Karlinsey.

The agreement bans bridge demolition in Kenmore, including “rubblizing” concrete. Instead, demolition will take place on barges south of the city.

Debris will then be barged to Kenmore, where it will be transfered to trucks and shipped out of the city.

The agreement says no concrete can touch the ground in Kenmore and trucks must be covered. Also, KGM must comply with federal, state and local laws during transport.

About a quarter of the rubble will go through Kenmore, with the rest transported through other sites. Work in Kenmore is scheduled from June to December and has restricted hours.

In 2014, the city rezoned the Lakepointe property to exclude industrial uses in an effort to redevelop the 45 acres into office, retail, housing and public uses. However, state law allows existing industrial uses on the site to remain as long as they are not expanded.

Karlinsey said the city is working with Weidner Apartment Homes of Kirkland to potentially redevelop some of the site with 1,200 housing units and several hundred-thousand square feet of office and retail space. There also could be public space, a marina and waterfront improvements.

Karlinsey said a purchase-and-sale agreement was made over a year ago between Lakepointe/Pioneer Towing and Weidner.

“You wont find another undeveloped property of its size on Lake Washington, so it's a pretty big deal for us,” Karlinsey said.




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