The Nisqually Earthquake opened up wide cracks in the long runway at King County International Airport, but crews working around the clock finished an estimated six-week repair job in just two weeks  [enlarged view].  View a RealMedia streaming video to see scenes from the quake [.rm file] and a glimpse inside the King County Emergency Operations Center (right).  Also see a photo gallery of transportation impacts and visit a new county Web site summarizing the county's overall response to the Nisqually Earthquake and tips for getting yourself prepared.

It struck on the morning of Feb. 28, 2001, and lasted 40 seconds.  It had a magnitude of 6.8 on the Richter scale, and was felt as far away as Salt Lake City.  The Nisqually Earthquake one year ago this week did an estimated $7 million of damage to King County roads, bridges, transit facilities, and buildings and runways at King County International Airport (Boeing Field).  Most of the transportation-related repairs were completed within a few weeks. 

And one year later, the region is more ready than ever.  More than 160 governments, hospitals, organizations and major companies have crafted an unprecedented rapid response plan that will allow emergency workers to deliver assistance to the public more quickly when disasters strike.

Key elements of the Regional Disaster Plan were completed last month and participants are being asked to sign-on to it by May 1.  The pact calls for the creation of four zones within King County.  Cities, agencies, organizations and schools within each zone would work together to respond and share resources -- saving lives and protecting property more effectively while keeping down costs. The Regional Disaster Plan will complement a multi-county mutual-aid agreement that was finalized after the earthquake and is now being adopted by counties throughout the state.

Here's how King County Transportation has recovered in the past year from the earthquake:

Most of the public attention focused on the cracks that opened up in the long runway at Boeing Field.  Stabilizing the ground underneath the asphalt, patching cracks and fissures, resurfacing the areas that were patched, and replacing cracked storm drain pipes adjacent to the runway was job that was initially estimated to take six weeks.  Round-the-clock work led to early recovery of the full 10,000 feet of runway.  The long runway was officially reopened for takeoffs and landings on Thursday, March 15th, at 8:30 a.m., just two weeks after the quake struck.  See a photo gallery of airport impacts.

Only three county bridges were damaged, with the South Park Bridge over the Duwamish River being the most heavily damaged.  It cost nearly $700,000 to repair the aging structure, but operational capability was restored in just 25 days.  The bridge suffered damage to the alignment of the draw spans, cracking of concrete piers and rails, and widespread settlement of the south end approach from liquefaction of the underlying soils. The county’s bridge engineers and consultants designed repairs that were constructed by contract and county crews.  See a photo gallery of damage to the South Park Bridge and how it was repaired.

King County’s aggressive bridge seismic retrofit program saved many structures from being damaged.  During the past nine years, the county has retrofitted 72 bridges at a cost of $12 million. The county’s Road Services Division will retrofit 50 additional bridges by 2006.