FOLLOWUP: Fallen Morgan Junction utility pole was ‘identified for replacement’

| Safety | Utilities | West Seattle news

(Sunday night photo, sent by Beth)

11:56 PM: As promised, we followed up on the utility pole that spontaneously fell onto California SW between SW Graham and SW Raymond on Sunday night. As reported here, no one was hurt, but a car was damaged. Seattle City Light spokesperson Julie Moore tells WSB that pole had been “identified for replacement”; it was last inspected three years ago. “We are continuously inspecting poles, inspecting about 10% of our 92,000+ wooden poles per year,” Moore said. “This means we inspect each pole about every 10 years. Pole longevity can vary widely based on the wood species, treatment, and the environment where it is placed. A typical modern pole should last 40-60 years.” She also says that City Light has since checked 10 adjacent poles “as a precautionary measure” and “they all appear to be in good condition.”

P.S. If you see a pole with a clearly visible problem (leaning, etc.), info on how to report it is in this WSB story from a year ago.

1:41 PM: We asked for a bit more info on this pole’s history: “That pole was placed in 1953. Prior to 2017, it was inspected in 2010 and given a P5 rating, which is the top in our 1-5 rating system. Following the 2017 inspection, it was given a P2 rating, which is why it was identified for replacement.”

Um, No! May 12, 2020 (12:31 pm)

Kinda like the bridge! Sorry, too soon?

David Witcraft May 13, 2020 (9:24 am)

Touche!

Blbl May 12, 2020 (12:56 pm)

Why spend money inspecting them if you’re not going to replace them? Three years ago they knew it needed to be replaced but they didn’t replace it, then it fell down. Sounds familiar.

KM May 12, 2020 (2:19 pm)

It’s not the only pole in town, and I imagine that there’s a process in place for working though needed replacements, and SCL likely cannot do them all at once. If they had enough resources to identify and fix every pole immediately, people would then complain say “City Light is a bloated government agency” and “seems like a waste of taxpayer money!” Maybe they need to pick up the pace a bit with replacements, but we’re not the experts here. They are currently working on pole replacements however, we’ve had several in our neighborhood replaced during the past couple weeks.
- Leelee May 12, 2020 (7:31 pm)
  
  Ok but THREE YEARS is a long time…
David Witcraft May 13, 2020 (9:26 am)

The replacement budget is 10 years behind, but emergency crews(on overtime) are always available!
- Bill May 13, 2020 (11:06 am)
  
  It really must suck for you when the lights come back on after max1-2 hours in the middle of the night in the middle of a fall/winter wind and pouring rain storm.

WS Taxpayer May 12, 2020 (1:02 pm)

Looks like utility pole monitoring and repair are eerily similar to bridge monitoring and repair…Our Tax Dollars at work!

KT May 12, 2020 (2:37 pm)

Exactly what I was thinking.

coffeedude May 12, 2020 (1:14 pm)

I’ve always wondered why they don’t use metal poles, as many other areas in the US have done.

just here for the comments May 12, 2020 (2:10 pm)

I’m by no means a pole expert, but 67 years seems a pretty long lifespan and likely longer than a metal pole could withstand with unprotected ground contact like this installation.

Black panther May 12, 2020 (2:03 pm)

Funny how people want government to take on more responsibility, when they cant even handle the responsibility they already have.

Lola May 12, 2020 (2:36 pm)

So it was 67 years old? Wow like they said above they knew and inspected it 3 years ago. How long after inspection do they say they replace them? Or do they wait for a disaster to happen? Seems as if our City is just falling apart at the seams.

AN May 12, 2020 (2:41 pm)

If there wasn’t a stay at home order this could have been deadly! Thank goodness no one was hurt. That’s 67 years old, 7 years past what they claim to be the high end of a poles life!

BBILL May 12, 2020 (11:26 pm)

“typical modern pole should last 40-60 years” Maybe note that the word “modern” was included. The average life expectancy of poles installed in the 50s might be more or less, or the same, than that.
- Bill May 13, 2020 (11:10 am)
  
  That pole probably failed more due to the sidewalk concrete poured up higher than the treated area during some re-grading of the area!

Jim May 12, 2020 (3:12 pm)

67 years… looks like they got all that and then some out of that pole. Could you imagine some poor jogger walking up to that pole to stretch his hamstring, and he pushes it right down into the street…

AIDM May 12, 2020 (3:16 pm)

3:14 PM: Seattle City Light is now reporting that the pole had a vertical expansion joint that may have been stuck for the last 3 years. It was also supporting 7 power lines even though it was only designed to support 6.

WSB May 12, 2020 (4:10 pm)

Ha ha.
David Witcraft May 13, 2020 (9:29 am)

Heavier line too!

B May 12, 2020 (4:46 pm)

Is “oh, yeah, we knew about that one” supposed to be comforting?

Tom Gut May 12, 2020 (9:56 pm)

Reminds me of the 3 streetlights out on Holly, between 40th & 41st. I’ve submitted repair requests since October 2018. Nothing happening except it’s difficult to ignore the pattern.

Rick May 13, 2020 (3:23 am)

It’s called job security.

anonyme May 13, 2020 (7:24 am)

Another “we knew about it but did nothing” excuse. This is the mantra for the City of Seattle, which is as rotten as that pole. They don’t even understand how damaging that comment is.