Heavy lifting begins today on Legislative Building

REBECCA COOK, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

OLYMPIA -- Scaffolding on the earthquake-damaged Capitol will start going up today, but another state building on the Capitol Campus is coming down.

The two-story brick building called the Employment Security Annex on Capitol Way was damaged beyond repair in last week's 6.8 magnitude earthquake, said General Administration Director Marsha Tadano Long. About 20 people work there, and the building is used for training sessions. It's also known as the old IBM building.

"It's not salvageable," Long said.

She was upbeat about the domed Capitol, though. The Legislature won't be allowed back at least through next week, but Long said it's possible lawmakers will be able to finish at least some of their 105-day session there.

The 74-year-old Capitol's visible scars serve as a reminder of all the work that remains to be done across the state in the earthquake's aftermath.

"I think the building is quite safe," engineer Mike Wright said. "The retrofits have shown that they work, and work well."

Long and Wright said the real question is whether the Capitol dome could survive another earthquake. Until they know that, it will remain closed.

On Wednesday, a giant crane lifted scaffolding up to the fifth-floor level of the building. In the next three days, workers will carry the scaffolding up another 60 feet and start setting it up around columns that were damaged. Ten of the 16 columns -- each weighing 60,000 pounds -- shifted during the quake.

Once the scaffolding is up, engineers will be able to take a closer look and determine what they need to do. Wright said they need to estimate how big an earthquake would be needed to further damage the Capitol. Once they know that, they'll consult with seismologists on the probability that a quake that size will hit. That will determine when the Capitol reopens.

One possibility is fitting steel collars around each column and securing them to an interior concrete wall, Long said. That would take at least four weeks. First, huge sandstone blocks that shifted out of place have to be secured, so they don't threaten to fall, Wright said.

Even when engineers say it's safe to go into a building, people who rode out the earthquake may have qualms. Psychologists have been on hand as workers returned to state buildings this week, as well as engineers and architects who could explain why a building really was safe.

"Most were OK, and some were very, very nervous," Long said about workers returning to the General Administration building. She said that once the Capitol is reopened, her agency may produce a video for people who work there to educate them about how the dome is constructed and how it was evaluated to be safe.

"If they understand how the building is built and where the strength comes from, they will feel better," Long said.

The state House and Senate are meeting in other office buildings on the Capitol Campus. Several committees met Wednesday, and the Senate plowed along in its temporary quarters, passing more than a dozen bills on such topics as school bullying, crime victim notification and jury duty length.

The Olympian Copyright 2000

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