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Bus barn becomes
temporary horse barn
 Conserving
horsepower took on a whole new meaning for Metro early Monday morning,
when employees at East Base in Bellevue came to the rescue of two lost
horses.
Around 4 a.m., Bellevue Police officers responded to a call of horses
wandering loose on Northup Way just south of State Route 520. The
officers found them near the intersection of Northup and 124th Avenue
Northeast, and needed a quick way to corral them before either the
horses or an unsuspecting motorist was injured.
“Our officers diverted them into the first fenced-off area they could
find, which was Metro’s bus base,” said Bellevue Police Officer Michael
Chiu.
Metro Supervisor Fred Olander said he had been alerted that horses were
seen near East Base, yet was surprised to find them wandering up the
driveway under the escort of four police cars. But being a long-time
horse owner, Olander knew immediately what to do.
“Get me some rope,” he told workers from Vehicle Maintenance.
 The
VM crew found some rope used for the trolley poles, and Olander had soon
fashioned it into lead ropes. By then, most of the buses at the base
were ready to roll out for the morning commute, and everyone was worried
the horses would be spooked.
“We set up a real barn in an empty bus bay in the maintenance area, and
the horses were very calm,” said Olander. “You could tell one was a
former racehorse, and the other was either an English jumper or had
girls in the family – because its mane was braided.”
Two horse-owning bus drivers brought in some hay from home, and another
ran to the store for carrots. Olander and VM Supervisor Jim Nale ended
up babysitting the horses for about four hours until Animal Control
arrived and took them to a horse sanctuary in Newcastle.
Chiu said the police later discovered the horses had wandered down from
the Bridle Trails area on the other side of SR-520. The 18-year-old
retired polo pony and a four-year-old retired race horse belong to a
young girl who saved her allowance to buy the horses. By Monday
afternoon, they were reunited with their owner.
Sound Transit
progressing with tunnel renovation
 Sound
Transit crews have made some big inroads on the demolition work now
underway in the closed Downtown
Seattle Transit Tunnel (DSTT).
The tunnel closed on Sept. 24 for up to two years, so it could be
retrofitted for joint use by buses and light rail. One of the first big
chores was to remove the existing roadbed, so that rails could be
installed and the tunnel reconfigured for level-boarding buses and light
rail cars.
As of last week, the tunnel roadway south of the International District
Station was at grade and ready for new pavement. Crews are continuing to
work north, and will soon have the demolition done to University
Station. The first new section of rail has been set and will be embedded
soon.
Transportation
Connection expands
The Transportation Connection, which houses Metro’s downtown Seattle
pass sales office, has expanded to include other resources and programs
for downtown employers and commuters.
Last week, the Urban Mobility Group and the Seattle Department of
Transportation (SDOT) officially opened their offices at the storefront
location on the concourse level of the Rainier Square complex at Fourth
Avenue and University Street. Services now being offered onsite are:
• Metro Transit pass sales and timetable information, plus free
“Plan
Your Commute” sessions held every Wednesday from 11:30
a.m. to
1:30 p.m.;
• SDOT’s Center City Construction Coordinator Office;
• Information for employers from the Urban Mobility Group on
commute
options, programs and products; and
• The “Transportation Gallery” with photos and videos about changes
in
Downtown Seattle.
Exploring possibilities of
reuseable concrete
Two King County agencies – including the
Road Services Division
– are teaming up with public and private partners to explore the use of
slag cement for county projects.
Slag is a by-product generated in the blast furnaces used to produce
steel, and steel manufacturers generate substantial quantities of slag.
It used to be considered waste material, but these days it’s becoming
increasingly attractive as a cement replacement.
The Roads Division, in partnership with the King County Department of
Natural Resources (DNRP), the Seattle Public Utilities Material
Laboratory, and the Seattle Branch Office of cement manufacturer Lafarge
North America, has conducted testing on a variety of “slag cement
concrete” mixtures in order to determine their suitability and usability
on King County road and infrastructure projects, as well as DNRP and
City of Seattle projects.
Test results are promising, and Roads is exploring ways to incorporate
slag cement into a sidewalk project slated for construction in the
spring of 2006.
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