520 construction barge floats away during windstorm
Sep 30, 2013, 12:49 PM | Updated: 2:20 pm
David Becher, a WSDOT 520 bridge project manager, said the barge and crane (similar to the barge and crane pictured above) broke loose from its anchor during Sunday night and nearly ran into a private dock in Lake Washington. (WSDOT Photo)
(WSDOT Photo)
At the height of the windstorm Sunday night, a barge carrying a 520 bridge construction crane broke loose and came within feet from a dock in Seattle’s Laurelhurst neighborhood.
David Becher, the 520 bridge project manager with the Washington State Department of Transportation, said the barge and crane broke loose from its anchor Sunday night and nearly ran into a private dock on Lake Washington.
A homeowner saw the lights of the barge as it was blowing towards his dock and called 911.
“It actually floated to the north, to the vicinity where a property owner saw the barge coming in close to his property,” said Becher.
The barge would have hit the dock, but the lake is only eight feet deep in that spot.
A tugboat moved the beached barge early Monday morning.
KIRO Radio’s Bob Larson contributed to this report.
