Kenmore Homes Swallowed Whole by Brightwater Sewage Tunnel!
Posted by the Kenmore Crow | Filed under Construction | 1 Comment
Okay that headline isn’t exactly true. But apparently there have been some pretty serious problems…
The Seattle Times had an interesting story a few days ago about the trouble brewing hundreds of feet under our fair city: Brightwater tunnel likely causing homes’ troubles
Neighbors of Brightwater have complained of construction noises late into the night, cracked floors and foundations, a sinkhole that swallowed a driveway, pollution of a creek, homes flooded with sewage and wells gone dry.
Most of the complaints have been filed by people who live along the tunnel route. The tunnel runs under Northeast 195th Street and other roads, and directly beneath 147 private properties, officials said.
Here are some of the things neighbors have endured:
- Marlene and Eldon Berg’s previously quiet Kenmore neighborhood became a noisy construction site, with truck engines revving, backup beepers sounding and metal banging on metal when contractors began digging a tunnel portal. Windows in their home rattled and floors shook when a boring machine chewed its way out of the portal. After the Bergs’ well ran dry, the county hooked them up to the city water system.
- Ray Ames was asleep when his wife, Mary, woke him up and showed him a brownish liquid flooding the kitchen and pouring out of the toilet. Raw sewage had backed up into the house because of pump problems on a Kenmore sewer line that was being redirected to the Brightwater plant. Two years later the county paid more than $70,000 for repairs and legal fees.
- Pauline Chihara stepped out of her Kenmore home early one morning and discovered her driveway had fallen into a 30-foot-wide, 15-foot-deep sinkhole.
Yikes!
Here’s a map of where the Brightwater tunnel passes through underneath Kenmore:
View the full system map at the project page on King County’s website.
Sounds like it’s a good idea to keep your eyes peeled for potential problems (cracked foundations and driveways, plumbing issues, etc.) if you live anywhere along the NE 195th St. route.
If a giant sinkhole swallows your house, call 9-1-1 from the neighbor’s place after you barely escape with your life. If you have other, less pressing problems thanks to Brightwater, call the County’s construction information line at 206-205-5989.
Tags: Brightwater, Construction, King County, sewage
Ross Hunter to Buy Everyone in Kenmore a New Bayliner Boat?
Posted by the Kenmore Crow | Filed under Politics | No Comments Yet!
Some Kenmore residents may recall the talk that has been floating around for a few years about the possibility of King County implementing a new foot ferry route from Kenmore to the U District.
Imagine catching a ferry from Shilshole to downtown Seattle, or from Kenmore to a job in the city.
Those routes moved a bit closer to reality Thursday when King County Executive Ron Sims unveiled his plan for the county’s venture into the passenger-ferry business.
Not only would the county pick up foot-ferry service from Vashon Island to downtown Seattle and continue the Elliott Bay water taxi, it would inaugurate five other demonstration routes: Kirkland to Seattle, South Puget Sound to Seattle, Kenmore to Seattle, Shilshole to Seattle, and Renton to Seattle.
As far as I know, the county never even got as far as the “demonstration routes” mentioned in the above 2007 Seattle Times article, and now apparently the whole plan is dead in the water.
But, fear not, hopeful seafarer! King County Executive candidate Ross Hunter has the solution! Check out this exciting mailer the Kenmore Crow received from Ross Hunter’s campaign last week:
If you click the above image to enlarge it, you can read the fine print. In it, Ross Hunter explains that instead of running foot ferries, King County should instead buy everyone an $18,000 2009 Bayliner 175!
Now that’s a plan I can get behind. Free boats for everyone!
Tags: ferry, King County, Politics
