This weekend’s salmon fishing is a reminder that Don Armeni Boat Ramp can be a very busy place. Back in April, we reported that its float-replacement project was mostly done, with a few remaining touches. In correspondence with Seattle Parks, boater Steve King – who had observed “something missing” – learned it’s a little more complicated. At the heart of it was what remained of a sawmill from more than a century ago – the wood debris shown in these photos taken during construction. He shared this detailed explanation he received from Steve Levengood, Parks’ Capital Projects Coordinator Senior Built Environment Accessibility Compliance Lead:
The work is not yet completed. The original design had 4 piles on each side. Unfortunately, the #3 of 4 piles (counting from near shore outward) and the #4 of 4 piles could not be installed because, as we discovered during construction, the remains of an old sawmill was buried under the mudline. (We removed about 25 truckloads of old lumber before stopping since at that point, we were concerned we would undermine the boat ramp itself.) This means the float manufacturer needs to design more rigid connections to install the last floats. We have not yet received their proposal to review.
The float designer is also the designer of record, since the floats are a design-build element, and is very busy, so it may take months to get anything installed unfortunately. (They are also the only firm who does this work in Washington State, so we are dealing with a monopoly situation as well.) The Contractor, American Construction, is also eager to complete the work, and has been pressing them to complete their engineering work. The south floats, since the missing floats will just bridge the gap between the 2nd and 4th piles, should be doable. I have some doubts about the outer north floats since it will be unsupported by any piles, so we will need to see if that is actually doable once they finish their analysis, including the impacts of tidal, waves and wind.
I am attaching photos of the lumber that was removed. When we looked at historical photos, there was a sawmill at that location prior to World War I. In those days, when decommissioning a facility, they would apparently just cut the piles and drop the whole thing in the water. It is frustrating, and indeed would be criminal if done now, but it is what it is.
The Don Armeni webpage says Parks is hoping to install the added floats by the end of the year.
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