BURIEN, Wash. — A truck ran into the “Downtown Burien” sign Wednesday during the lunch hour, bringing down the whole structure that was completed in 2003.
The driver, who was operating a vehicle with the sign “Coast Crane,” told The B-Town Blog that he had forgotten to lower the equipment all the way down on the truck.
“When I grabbed [the sign], it popped a wheelie,” he said.
The driver said he was working on a construction site in the town square.
Coast Crane did not answer KIRO 7’s call before air time.
The metal sign, held up by brick pillars, crossed 152nd Street and cost $95,000 when it was constructed.
The city of Burien told KIRO 7 the company responsible for the damage was working with them and would cover the cost of replacing the sign.
The city manager wrote to council members Wednesday:
Today the “Downtown Burien” archway across SW 152nd St just west of 1st Ave S was hit by a passing truck and destroyed. Fortunately no one was hurt. Our Police and Public Works crew responded promptly and professionally and the debris was cleaned up quickly. Local traffic flow and business access was restored within a very short time. I am very proud of our Police and crew and who responded so well to an urgent situation. We are already working with the company responsible for the damage, and will work to get the archway replaced and city costs reimbursed.
The structure did not have any clearance sign, because it was 16’ tall at the lowest points. The city of Burien adopted standards from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, who set the requirement for a clearance sign when a bridge or overpass is 15’ or shorter.
The Washington Department of Transportation has a similar requirement when the structure is under 15’3.”
"All of a sudden we hear the big crash coming down, and we ran outside and looked," said Mary Whitright, who works at a State Farm Insurance office on 152nd Street.
She said the noise was like a slow-motion toppling of metal crunching.
Whitright said it happened right at the time of day when there is heavy vehicle traffic, and people walking on the sidewalks. School children also walk along that area during their lunch hour.
She said it was astonishing that no car happened to be traveling through in the opposite direction right at that moment, nor were there pedestrians in the way of the crash.
As for the driver, “He looked so sad, and I felt so sorry for him. I just wanted to let him be. He was just kind of sitting there, shaking his head,” Whitright side.
Vanessa Miller said she walks past the arch every day, but didn’t yesterday because of the rain.
Miller said she was “terrified. Because that could have been me.”
She said she loved the sign, because of the flowers that the city would hang across the arch. She said she hopes it gets rebuilt: “It was a beautiful sign to welcome everybody to our beautiful little city.”
More photos and videos can be seen at www.b-townblog.com.
Cox Media Group
