SEATTLE — Widening the traffic-choked Evergreen Point floating bridge across Lake Washington would cost well into the billions, state planners say.
Depending on how much wider the four-lane Highway 520 bridge becomes and what steps are taken to protect the environment and reduce noise, the cost could reach $14.7 billion, consultants for the Trans-Lake Washington Project said this week.
The bridge, one of three floating spans across the lake, was built in the early 1960s to carry 80,000 vehicles a day. It now carries 130,000 and is deteriorating and susceptible to damage from high winds. State engineers expect it to last only another 20 or 25 years. A new bridge probably would not be ready until about 2015.
Among the options for replacing the bridge:
Many of the wealthy residents of Medina and other cities on the east side of the lake are expected to demand noise walls or other features to reduce noise and pollution. Such environmental mitigations could add up to $6 billion.
Police shoot, kill man with sword: A 55-year-old man waving a sword was shot to death by police Thursday in unincorporated Pierce County south of Tacoma, a sheriff’s spokesman said. The man was identified as Herbert Wesley Roland, the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office said. An autopsy was scheduled for today. The man died at the scene after being shot multiple times, said sheriff’s Sgt. Dave Hall. Officers were called to the Willow Park Apartments in the 2100 block of 112th Street S. by residents who said the man was threatening people with a samurai sword. When officers arrived, they were forced to shoot him, Hall said.
Public defenders accused of soliciting clients: A second public defender in Grant County Superior Court has been accused of soliciting indigent clients for payment. Thomas Earl, the lead public defender for the court, and a colleague, Guillermo Romero, both are being investigated by the Washington State Bar Association. Each was scheduled for a hearing before the bar’s disciplinary board review committee today. The bar association is investigating complaints from 11 Grant County defendants who contend that Earl, as their court-appointed lawyer, told them he’d take their cases if he was paid or else led them to believe they would get a better defense if he got money. The state bar is investigating allegations from 10 indigent clients who contend that Romero asked them for cash. Romero has denied the allegations.
Video led to killings, officials say: A confrontation over a teen’s secret videotaping of his sister in the shower led to the killing of four family members, court documents allege. Search warrant documents say that authorities believe 16-year-old William Lembcke killed his parents, sister and little brother in December after he was disciplined for secretly videotaping the 18-year-old girl in the shower. A hearing is scheduled Wednesday on motions by Lembcke’s lawyers to have a confession and other evidence thrown out because he suffered "diminished mental capacity" when he gave statements to officers and authorized a search of his home in this northeast Washington town. Lembcke originally told authorities he shot his sister, parents and 11-year-old brother Dec. 23 because he was angry that his father had yelled at him for not helping to gather firewood.
From Herald news services
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