Rail foes challenge I-90 plan Seattle Times Sound Transit argued that it will reimburse the Department of Transportation by paying for two carpool lanes, to replace the two express lanes that would be ... and more »

The state Supreme Court has agreed to hear a lawsuit that seeks to ban Sound Transit's light-rail system from using space on Interstate 90. United States Supreme Court - Supreme Court - United States - Sound Transit - Law

Creative funding to keep the Eastside rail corridor whole Seattle Times To the south, Sound Transit is looking at a Seattle-Bellevue-Redmond light rail line. Redmond is considering a Redmond-to-Woodinville spur and two utilities ...

Last Saturday I went over 520 to Seattle at around 9:30AM & returned going Eastbound around noon. The eagle pair were there at both times hunting- one was perching on the north metal sculpture, the other, on the lamppost nearest the sculpture.

Why, I wonder, does environmental law only protect where an endangered species nests, and not where the species hunts? Doesn’t the availability of their food source impact  a species as much as where to nest?

All this is because I’m wondering how WSDOT & SDOT & Sound Transit & the cities of Seattle & Bellevue will mitigate impacts to the wildlife living in the Arboretum when redevelopment of the 520 bridge happens….thoughts?

Update: I’ve seen other info re: the eagle pair hunting from the 520 bridge:

1. “Eagle Eyes on the 520 Bridge”- http://blogs.king5.com/archives/2009/03/eagleeyes-on-th.html

2. WSDOT SR 520 DEIS- http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/NR/rdonlyres/5969A3E2-01E1-4000-8F80-F18D006CEE7/0/SR520DEIS_AppendixWPart2.pdf

3. Northwest Cable News by Deborah Feldman- http://www.nwcn.com/archive/61211932.html

A state panel has finally selected a preferred option on replacing the floating 520 bridge. The panel voted 10 to 2 in favor of replacing the existing bridge from Interstate 5 to Medina with a new six-lane bridge, which would include one HOV lane in each direction. It would feature a new Montlake interchange, similar to the current interchange, with a new bascule bridge across the cut. It also would add some improvement to transit connections, as well as a reversible HOV lane connecting to Interstate 5. The cost will be about $4.6 billion but it will not increase ...

Have you noticed that on sunny days, there are at least 2 Bald Eagles that hunt in the Arboretum and perch on the sculptures along side the freeway?

When the eagles aren’t there, the Blue Herons do the same, or stand in the water along side the beaver lodge. Turtles bask in the sun on the logs to the west of the stand of trees (when you’re coming from east to west). Loons and grebes and numerous other birds nest and hunt in the area.

Seattle PI reporter Deborah Harrell reported about stakeholders’ concerns re: the 520 redesign, and I’m wondering- how will the new design mitigate for the existing wildlife, some of which are protected species?

Seattle Times reporter Mike Lindblom informs us today that there will be variable speeds on I-90 at times in the future, and that WSDOT has installed “electronic variable speed signs” from Seattle to Mercer Island and Bellevue (click here).

“Starting Tuesday, the speed limit on the Interstate 90 floating bridge will no longer stay at 60 mph.

When traffic is heavy, the speed limit might temporarily be 50 or 40 mph. Ice on the roadway could force the posted speed limit down to 30 mph.”

This is probably a good safety practice during windstorms or bad weather, but I doubt many folks around here know about this yet.

Can anyone say “revenue stream“?

The Washington state ferry system raises fares on Friday for the peak summer season.

Sometimes the comments are pretty interesting after an issue has been identified in an article on light rail- this time by the Seattle P-I (click here):

“Posted by unregistered user at 4/17/09 6:10 p.m.

This sounds like it will involve much more than installing rigid joints. The pontoons, and the anchors and cables holding them in place, would have to be greatly strengthened to prevent even slight motion of the rigid joints and the concrete to which they’re fastened. The amount of strengthening needed to withstand sixty years of storms without any measurable flexure is so far beyond what the bridge and its restraints were designed for that it isn’t just a matter of replacing joints. Even if the joints were made of the strongest material known to man, the pontoons are made of concrete, which has good compression strength but poorer tensile strength. The requirement for rigidity adds the necessity for the materials on both sides of the joint to have higher tensile strength as well, unless the anchors and cables themselves can hold the bridge absolutely still. But as designed they simply can’t do that in a winter storm.“

And again:

“Posted by unregistered user at 4/17/09 9:19 p.m.

Sound Transit did a study where they ran some trucks over the bridge to simulate a train of four 148,000 pound cars (in total a 296 ton train) at 30 mph. They did this in wind conditions of 3 mph and at a static lake level of 20.4 feet. As part of their effort they considered the effects of a 1-year storm, and found their report to be satisfactory after having considered that.

They did note at the end of the study that the lake level can drop as much as 3.8 feet and that this was not part of the study. They did say that under the conditions tested, the anchor cables each exert a 69 ton force.

They didn’t overtly mention that the current expansion joints expand and contract about 4 feet in normal use, but did cheerfully say that a future design effort would be required to come up with a solution to this unaddressed problem.

The Hood Canal Bridge was built 48 years ago and its eastern span sank in a storm. The original Lake Washington (now I-90) floating bridge was built in 1940 and it sank 50 years later in a storm while in poor condition and while being repaired. Don’t you think that this train retrofit should be designed with at least 100-year storms in mind and preferably somewhat more than that?

The report recommended not adding any extra total weight to the bridge. Instead, it proposed that portions of the bridge should be lightened to make up for the heavy additions needed to support the trains. The result could still withstand a 1-year storm, they concluded.

There’s more, but it’s all a recipe for a limited lifespan bridge and another eventual sinking.”

Here are comments from John Niles from March 31st via email:

“The following language setting up a careful last look at floating light rail across Lake Washington has been inserted into the State House version of the WSDOT funding bill now being considered in Olympia:

QUOTE: (17) The department [WSDOT] shall not sign the final environmental impact statement for the east link [light rail] project or negotiate an airspace lease with sound transit for the use of the Interstate 90 center roadway for exclusive use by light rail until completion of an independent facility asset assessment by the joint transportation committee. UNQUOTEThe complete bill is at http://leap.leg.wa.gov/leap/Budget/Detail/2009/ht0911bill_0330.pdf .

If you support this provision, now would be a good time to contact your legislators and say that. Light rail fans are screaming for its removal.

This provision fits nicely with the CETA input to the draft East Link EIS that demands a strong bus alternative be included in that light rail EIS assessment to put on record the higher transit capacity and wider geographic reach that is possible from Sound Transit’s billions.

This dust up is related to a House funding provision — described in the Seattle Times at http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008952405_bridgerail31m.html and in the online PI at http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlepolitics/archives/165394.asp — that is proposing to delay State financial support for doing the restriping of the I-90 outer roadway lanes (3 lanes now into 4 narrower lanes) to get ready for passenger railroad takeover of that bridge’s center roadway, instead of filling it up with buses, vanpools, and carpools.

Point to remember — the Federal Record of Decision on East Link is at least a year away from completion. There is time available to do the analysis on I-90 the House wants to see done, and fold it into the final EIS.

Another point — Sound Transit’s daily tax revenue is about to double as a result of its Prop 1 victory. Why shouldn’t Sound Transit foot the bill for all I-90 changes related to light rail?

John Niles”