Posted on

Down-to-earth job: Sea-Tac’s third runway to get its fill of dirt

Document Library
Cities
Des Moines
Conveyor

A 1996 Seattle Times article details the massive earth-moving challenge facing Sea-Tac Airport's planned third runway, which required importing approximately 14.25 million cubic yards of fill dirt at an estimated cost of $120 million to level a corridor of dips and valleys as deep as 145 feet. Port of Seattle planners were exploring multiple options for sourcing and transporting the dirt, including conveyor belts, barges, and rail spurs, while facing legal opposition from nearby cities who argued the project understated environmental and community harm.

Open full document

Notes

Seattle Times article by Jack Broom (August 15, 1996) on the massive fill dirt operation required for Sea-Tac Airport’s $455 million third runway project. Project manager Michael Cheyne states 14.25 million cubic yards of fill dirt must be imported at a cost of $120 million, with sources considered including Maury Island, North Bend, Black Diamond, Maltby, DuPont, and Vancouver Island. Delivery methods under study include trucks, barges, a new pier, a new rail spur near former Longacres racetrack, and conveyor belt routes up to four miles long from Des Moines Creek, Tukwila/Renton via Highway 518 and I-405, and the Duwamish Waterway via Highway 509. Des Moines opposes the runway project; nearby cities filed a second legal challenge citing faulty environmental analysis. Engineer Hank Hopkins secured right-of-way through Des Moines Sewer District property for a 7-foot-wide enclosed conveyor belt.

Sidebar On/Off
V V