The Port of Seattle has announced that there will be road closures at SeaTac Airport this weekend, beginning Friday night Jan. 30th at 9pm and ending Saturday morning Jan. 31st at 4am in order to erect a pedestrian bridge that will connect with the Light Rail Station:

Here’s the official info:

To accommodate the erection of the pedestrian bridge, pictured above, that will connect the SeaTac/Airport Light Rail Station on the west side of International Boulevard (SR 99) and the pick-up/drop-off parking area on the east side, there are road closures and detours scheduled for the overnight hours, beginning on Friday evening, 1/30, and ending Saturday morning, 1/31.

9 p.m. (Friday. 1/30) – 4 a.m. (Saturday, 1/31)

Both northbound and southbound International Boulevard (SR 99) will be closed between South 170th Street and South 176th Street. The detour route will be clearly marked. Motorists may see traffic control and single lane closures set-up as early as 8:00 p.m
11 p.m. (Friday. 1/30) – 4 a.m. (Saturday, 1/31)

The northbound Airport Expressway will be closed. Detour routes will be clearly marked. This closure will also necessitate the following:

• The Upper Drive (Departure Level) will be closed. Traffic will be detoured onto the Lower Drive (Arrivals Level).
• The entrance to the Airport at South 182nd Street will be closed and traffic detoured to the Air Cargo Road entrance via South 170th Street.
• The south entrance to the Airport Parking Garage will be closed and all parking traffic will routed to the north entrance.
• Traffic exiting from the Rental Car area will be rerouted.
• Traffic exiting from the Airport Parking Garage will be rerouted.
• There will be no local access from the Airport Parking Garage from 11 p.m. on Friday night until 4 a.m. on Saturday morning.

Drivers traveling to and from Sea-Tac Airport should allow extra time for delays during these periods and of course drive cautiously and pay close attention to flaggers and detour signage.

More info at the Port of Seattle website.

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Three children were dropped from second and third-floor balconies as a major 3-alarm fire struck a SeaTac apartment building Saturday night around 7pm, according to various sources.

The children were all caught safely, but two women who jumped are at Harborview Medical Center with life-threatening injuries.

Around 100 residents were displaced by the blaze at the Emerald Place By the Lake Apartments, located at 3117 S 192nd Street (map below).

Some 75 firefighters from ten area departments responded to the blaze from south King County.

Investigators don’t know yet what started the fire, and will be investigating it this coming week.

More info here:

• Seattle P-I
• KOMO News (video story here)
• The Seattle Times

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According to KOMO News, King County Sheriffs are seeking an elderly, grandfatherly vending machine robber (pictured above) who has been stealing from Coca Cola machines in SeaTac.

Authorities say that since last June, the “Coin-Op Robbing Grandpop” has stolen several thousand dollars from various machines at the Doubletree Hotel, located at 18740 International Blvd.

Apparently the suspect is so adept at breaking into the machines that he’s able to do so without damaging them; he then takes the cash from the inner coin box and the only way the robbery is discovered is when technicians open the machine (EDITOR’S NOTE: Perhaps he has experience with these machines?).

Police describe him as 60 to 70 years old, with glasses and dressed in a nice shirt, tie and overcoat – your typical Grandpa-type, only the kind who always has lots of coins in his pockets (“Hey Gramps, can we go to the Family Fun Center again?”).

The photo above was taken by a surveillance camera from one of the machines, so if you recognize him, you are asked to call the King County Sheriff’s Office in SeaTac at (206) 973-4900.

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The City of SeaTac Domestic Violence Task Force is collecting old cell phones for the month of January.

Drop-off locations are at:

• SeaTac City Hall
• North SeaTac Community Center
• All SeaTac Firestations
• High schools at the Tyee Educational Complex

Proceeds from the recycled phones will go to the Domestic Abuse Women’s Network.

For questions, please call Chris @ 206-973-4933 or email chrisp@ci.seatac.wa.us.

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Sound Transit is offering a special sneak-peek “Ride The Lunch Bus” tour of their new Link light rail system on Friday, Jan. 16th starting at 11:30am and ending at 3pm.

Here are the details:

WHAT: “Ride The Lunch Bus” Link light rail lunch tour

WHEN: Friday, Jan. 16 starting at 11:30am and ending at 3pm

WHERE: Tours depart and return at the southwest corner of 5th Avenue & South King Street in the International District. A Sound Transit bus marked “SPECIAL” will be waiting. Lunch location: Thai Recipe Restaurant.

COST: Cost of lunch is $10 (cash only) which includes a meal, drink, and tax. RSVP by Jan. 15 to Paige Johnson at 206-398-5300 or email at: Linkconstruction@soundtransit.org

DETAILS: Here’s more info from their website:

View the newly completed SODO and Stadium light rail stations and the Operations and Maintenance facility. Catch a glimpse of the Beacon Hill Station area where miners have excavated the underground station. See the elevated Mount Baker Station and guideway. Come see Martin Luther King Jr. Way S. get a facelift with new light rail, street improvements, sidewalks, lighting and landscaping. In Tukwila, see the nearly five miles of elevated trackway that was put together by the huge overhead gantry. Finally at Sea-Tac Airport take a look at the 1.7 miles of elevated and surface trackway that will connect the Tukwila International Blvd Station to the airport. Train testing is underway — you may see the first light rail vehicle!

Sound Transit Link light rail would like to invite you to tour the entire initial segment construction. The tour is part of Link light rail’s on-going effort to mitigate construction impacts on local businesses. This is a guided bus tour that will take you to and along the current construction sites. At any time during the tour, please feel free to ask questions. The tour is then followed by lunch at a local eating establishment. You are responsible for buying your own lunch.

Tours depart and return at the southwest corner of 5th Avenue & South King Street in the International District. A Sound Transit bus marked “SPECIAL” will be waiting. Tours depart at 11:30 a.m. and return by 3 p.m.

Cost of lunch is $10 (cash only) which includes a meal, drink, and tax.

We are sorry, but due to restrictions in our insurance policies, children under 18 are not permitted on the lunch bus tour.

To RSVP, or for more information, please contact Paige Johnson at 206-398-5300 or email at: Linkconstruction@soundtransit.org. In your response, please include your name, organization, telephone number and request for accommodations.

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UPDATE 9pm 1/4/09: Snow is still falling in the Sea-Tac area, with over an inch or so of accumulation so far. However, it is tapering off a bit, and the weatherfolk say it’s going to turn to rain late tonight/early Monday.

If you’re looking for info on airport delays, best bet is to check the Port of Seattle’s “real-time flight info” website here.

However, one never knows with the weather ’round these parts, so be sure to check back and watch the webcams we’ve got posted here, and be sure to refresh the page to see the latest images:

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