520 Bridge deconstruction concerns environmentalists, residents

Community groups and environmentalists are concerned about the deconstruction of the old 520 Bridge. The contractor is crushing concrete on barges on Lake Washington and some residents worry arsenic, asbestos and lead could be getting into the lake.

The plan had been to break apart the concrete and then barge it to Kenmore to crush it and then truck it away. The city of Kenmore fought against that plan, the City Council voted against it.

The contractor, KGM, then submitted a revised shoreline conditional use permit with the city of Medina and began breaking up the concrete on barges. The crushed concrete is still barged to Kenmore and then loaded onto trucks.

WSDOT says the contractor is using best practices on Lake Washington to contain the concrete dust -- which include using a curtain to contain the dust, spraying down the dust with water and making sure that water stays contained on the barge.

"I want it stopped," said Pat O'Brien of People for an Environmentally Responsible Kenmore (PERK). O'Brien says WSDOT it isn't doing enough to protect the lake and the air from arsenic. "It's not doing our health any good at all," said O'Brien. "Nobody who uses Lake Washington all the time wants to have this stuff in Lake Washington if there's another way to do it," he said.

O'Brien is so concerned about the contaminants in the concrete being loaded onto trucks in Kenmore near his house, he's moving.

WSDOT had the concrete in the bridge tested in 2015. At that time the test came back 50-65 ppm, an above-normal level for arsenic, according to WSDOT.

WSDOT says that test was on a molecular level and is not the standard test used by the EPA.

A later test in 2016, which the EPA does use, showed the level at 0.2, according to WSDOT.

"It was a fraction. It was still something we need to take to an approved facility and that's exactly what the contractor is going to do," said WSDOT spokesperson Steve Peer.

"They have all the local, state, county, federal permits they need to safely remove the bridge," said Peer.  "With all the best practices they're doing we feel confident they'll be able to get it off the lake in an environmentally friendly way."

PERK, People for an Environmentally Friendly Kenmore, is appealing to the federal government and has had an attorney send letters to the U.S. DOT inspector general and the Federal Highway Administration to try to stop the bridge deconstruction.

Laurelhurst Community Club is also concerned about the impacts of the bridge deconstruction on Lake Washington.

The city of Medina approved the revised shoreline conditional use permit to allow the additional deconstruction to occur on the lake.

“Medina wants WSDOT and their contractor KGM to follow all of the terms and conditions of their permits, which are extensive.” said Robert Grumbach, Medina interim city manager.

WSDOT wants the work to be completed by the end of the year because the pontoons are less stable now that they are no longer attached to each other and wind and waves make them more vulnerable.

The majority of the bridge, 70 percent, is already off the lake. The pontoons were floated out through the Ballard Locks and were sold so they can be re-used.

Cox Media Group