Portion of the ‘Downtown Burien’ archway sign, back when it was still standing.[/caption]Story & Photos by Scott Schaefer A crane truck knocked down the ‘Downtown Burien’ archway sign in the 130 block of SW 152nd Street (map below) around 12:20 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 10. According to the driver of the truck, the collision actually caused the vehicle to “pop a wheelie.” He told The B-Town Blog that he had been working at the site of new construction near Burien Town Square, and that he had forgotten that his winch crane boom was still in the upright position. The driver was traveling eastbound on SW 152nd towards 1st Ave South when he rammed into the sign. Both the overhead arch and columns on each side of the street were knocked down. In addition to the large metal arch on the roadway, bricks, pieces of metal and broken cement littered the area, including the sidewalks. Police blocked off SW 152nd between 2nd Ave SW and 1st Ave South for a while. Luckily, there were no injuries. Here’s surveillance video of the actual crash courtesy Michael’s Collision, located at 134-1/2 SW 152nd Street: [youtube]https://youtu.be/TyFIKyoaKcA[/youtube] Here’s raw video of the aftermath: [youtube]https://youtu.be/Am3xKs0Zrrk[/youtube] City staff, police and workers were on the site quickly, removing debris and assessing the situation. No word yet on the estimated value of the sign, nor when or if it will be replaced. From our initial research, it appears the sign was proposed as part of a 1999 ‘Downtown Burien Streetscape Design Plan,’ and was designed by KPG Interdisciplinary Design. Screen Shot 2016-02-10 at 1.56.59 PM It appears that the sign is a total loss, as evidenced by these photos taken shortly after the incident (click images to see larger versions/slideshow): IMG_3889 IMG_3883 IMG_3893 IMG_3873 IMG_3876 IMG_3887

We also shot video at the scene and will be doing an updated post, so check back soon… ]]>

Since 2007, The B-Town Blog is Burien’s multiple award-winning hyperlocal news/events website dedicated to independent journalism.

28 replies on “UPDATE: 'Downtown Burien' archway on SW 152nd destroyed; new videos added”

  1. This is really too bad – and the construction worker should be responsible and all other companies working at the sites should be told to not use this street to access the construction zones – I hope for our City that this worker and company will be responsible and pay for this to be replaced. We love the sign and it is welcoming to our city! Don’t let them get away with not fixing it! And that driver needs to wake up it sound like!

    1. This moron should be charged with reckless driving and given a hefty fine . He should not be driving a truck with a crane on it as he obviously cannot be trusted to do so.. I would feel a lot safer if his license was suspended.
      Of course his insurance company should replace the sign pronto…

      1. I read on another site the company the driver works for is already in talks with city for a full reimbursement for all damages. As for driver yes his driving record will be affected he could lose his job the next time his record comes up for review or the insurance company involved says let him go or we are not paying and dropping your policy.

  2. While what happened is unfortunate, this can also be looked at as an opportunity. One of the main attractions of Burien is its “Small town feel”. Part of any small town is a “Main Street”. Why not use the destruction of the entrance arch as an opportunity ot rename SW 152nd between 1st Avenue S. and 10th Avenue S. Main Street?
    SW 152nd is our Main Street. What kind of resonance does a “numbered” street name have? With all the money being spent on “Branding” and studies, it’s time to have something tangible. Main Street.

    1. Jack, any town that has ‘SW 152nd St’ for it’s ‘main street’, pretty much screams ‘small town feel’ to me. 😉

    2. Re-naming 152nd to “Main St.” is unnecessary. What needs to be cleaned up is the SW corner of 148th and 1st Ave S (end of hwy 518) which looks like something out of Detroit Michigan with the dilapidated vacant gas station. Not welcoming at all and certainly not a good first impression for those entering Burien for the first time.
      It would be nice if the area between the new sandwich place and Eliot Bay Brewery was cleaned up and modernized. Its pretty run-down looking.

    3. Burienites has a lot of things it can do to improve its image and “branding” but renaming 152nd Main Street shouldn’t be one of them. That is a cost for the businesses and tax payers that the city doesn’t need.

    4. Historically, the street name was either Cherry or a flower name. Historical records can be found to back this up. Burien used to have very many Orchards all around 152nd and 1st ave.

  3. Perhaps this is part of Burien’s “Re-branding” plan. I agree with Jack… time for 152nd to become “Main St.”
    It’s fortunate that nobody got hurt, but from the video, I’m sure the driver was jolted a bit when the truck did a “wheelie.”

  4. We agree! Time for some changes. I’m glad that everyone is OK,, but too bad it didn’t fall on top of Taco Bell and KFC! So, we can tear down the “cute” businesses welcoming visitors to our historic downtown Burien. Who even eats there anymore? with such great new spots opening up like Burien Fish House and The Bite Sandwich Shop!! Small Burien Businesses is what should be welcoming visitors.

  5. It figures the only thing accomplished on the 1999 ‘Downtown Burien Streetscape Design Plan,’ gets destroyed. I vote for Main Street it makes us sound like a “real” city.

  6. This is really sad. I liked the sign and saw it as a huge positive to our community. Whenever someone from out of town came to visit, I always take them to the Ale House, making sure I pass under the sign to let them see we take pride in our city. I hope they rebuild it!

  7. Time for a better designed sign. The lettering stood out poorly against the sky, and the posts were too skinny. Let’s have something more substantial.

  8. One can look at the signs on any street corner and easily figure out how to find their destination on SW 152nd, but which way is Main Street? That sounds more like First Ave S than the narrow, slow and congested SW 152nd. However, being there and seeing a sign calling it Main street would help our small time image.

  9. Changing the name to Main St isn’t cheap. Any business or home on 152nd now has a different address. Everyone has to update listings, paperwork, letterheads, business cards, maps, records of all sorts, its a bigger headache than a simple name change.
    Rents in Burien have already gone through the roof, and we are building more giant apartment/condos, so where exactly is the small town feel?
    We don’t need a small town feel, we don’t need to even more people to a city that already feels like its busting at the seams and I certainly don’t want a dime of tax payer money spent on totally unnecessary expenditures.

    1. That’s my Lumpy!!!!! He actually trained me how to operate a boom truck when I worked for WG Clark. Glad nobody was hurt.

      1. and yes he did forget to lower his boom. which surprises me because he has been operating boom trucks for many years. a very good operator. well I guess in a matter of speaking he did lower the boom!!! Lol

  10. Changing 152nd to Main Street would just reinforce what us business owners on 153rd already know….Burien is ONLY 152nd. Also, like someone said earlier, 1st Ave is typically Main Street. Let’s REALLY shake things up and change 153rd to Main Street!

Comments are closed.