Washington considers gas tax SKATTLK (AIM — The dev astating California earthquake has renewed interest tn Wash ington's efforts to beef up quake-sensitive bridges and freeways, a costly undertaking that may require a gas-tax increase. The state is three years into a 20-vear program to retrofit more than 1.000 bridges considered vul nerable to earthquake damage, and the question of cost still has not been resolved. Washington state engineers say they need at least $12.5 million a year to do the work, but the Legislature has set aside only a fraction of that amount. State Senate Transportation Committee (Chair man Larry Vognild. D-Fverett. said Tuesday he wouldn't lie averse to putting a measure on the bal lot seeking voter approval for a gasoline-tax increase to pay for seismic work. But highway officials will first have to prove the retrofitting is critical and can lie done in a reasonable time. Vognild said It would take a 2-cent-a-gallon increase in the gasoline levy to fully pay for the retrofit program. Vognild said, bach penny increase would generate about $27 million a year. When told of Vognild's comments, House Trans portation Committee Chairwoman Ruth Fisher said she. too. would lie willing to consider using the gas tax to cover these expenses. But like Vognild, she needs to he convinced. "There may be a need for that, hut we don t know it yet. We will take a look at it." Fisher said. Before any new tax can be passed. Initiative 601 requires a statewide public vote — providing both houses support such an increase. State Transportation Secretary Sid Morrison has ordered his engineers to determine whether a case can be made for more money to upgrade state bridges. "I come down on the side of giving us the resources so we won't look hack and say. Why didn't wp make the investment? Mortison n»id Washington's freeway overpasses and bridges probably would hold up pretty well in a 1.0* Ange les-sue earthquake, statu bridge engineers say but only if tl were one of Washington's typical IT to 15-second temblors The lays Angeles area quake measureft 6.6 on the Richter scale and lasted about 30 seconds, shaking apart a number of key highway bridges "I think we would do very well with one of that magnitude," said Ed Henley, Department of I rans portation bridge planner "It would depend on how long it lasted " In the past three years, the state Department of Transportation has used steel I sirs to reinforce many bridges on Interstate* five and 405 and Washington highways 4 It) and 512. so they can iletter withstand quakes, said Mvint Lwin. bridge engineer for the department. Officials say more attention also needs to tie paid to reinforcing masonry buildings, which can crum ble in earthquakes, and to search-and-rescue pre paredness Scientists say the Pacific Northwest is prime ter ritory for a severe quake Western Washington quakes in 1949 and 1965 each killed seven people. Not only can it happen here, it's inevitable." said Pal McElroy. deputy supervisor of the state Department of Natural Resoun es Unlike California quakes, which are generally caused when pieces of the Earth's crust slip hori zontally along fault lines, the Northwest's great quakes have been caused by crustal plates collid ing head-on. scientists say. Those plates meet 100 miles or so off the Northwest coast, from northern California to British Columbia. A recent Department of Natund Resources report predicts earthquakes in Washington with a magni tude of 6 on the Richter scale every 10 years Earth quakes with magnitude greater than 6 are likely to occur every 35 to 110 years, the rtiport says. Oregon’s structures not ready for quake PORTLAND (AIM — An earthquake of the size that crippled Lo* Angeles would do even more damage in Oregon, where many of the buildings aren't as safe ns those in Southern Cali fornia. "If you like what you see in l,o* Angeles, you will see it hem in Oregon and even worse in Portland if we have a similar earth quake." said lan Madin. Oregon state seismic hazard geologist. "Our buildings aren't as well-constructed as those in l~A." The l.os Angelos quake, measuring fi.fl on the Richter scale, killed at least 42 people and badly damaged buildings, freeways and utilities. "What Monday's quake is telling us is that Los Angeles got off fairly lightly because they have been strengthening build ings," Madin said. "But we don't have a fraction of the strength in Portland buildings that they hove in their structures." The fault that caused the quake was a "thrust” type, mean ing one side of the fault pushes up over the other side, said |ohn Minsch. geophysicist with the National Earthquake Informa tion Center in Golden. Colo. Madin said dozens of active thrust faults have been identi fied off the Oregon Coast in recent years. "Those faults are port of the Casoadia Subduct ion Zone, which itself is a very, very large thrust fault," Madin said. This zone could produce a magnitude 8 or 9 earthquake. "When you come farther inland, there is a possibility of thrust faulting in the Willamette Valley and In the Portland area." he said. The quake in Los Angeles did major damage to freeways that carry commerce to and from the Northwest. Sunrise Express Inc. of Vancouver. Wash., usually dispatch es IS trucks a day from Lo* Angeles to the Portland area on the company's sole long-distance route. But Monday, only two trucks found paths out of earthquake-damaged Los Angeles “Everything is on hold." said |oe kulavik. who owns the busi ness. "At this point in time, wo feel the emergency vehicles need those roads more than we do." Student dies in fail from 12th-story fire escape CHENEY. Wash. (AP) — East ern Washington University offi cials are trying to find out how a student fell 12 stories to Ins death from a residence hall fire escape. Jeffrey A. Garner. 24, of Kirk land. died instantly Monday evening in the full from the top floor of Pearce Hall. EWIJ spokeswoman Stephanie Pettit said Tuesday. Police found a note and a let ter at Garner's off-campus apart ment that both mentioned sui cide and were investigating the possibility that he killed him self, said Lt. Vic Wallace of the campus police. "Nobody actually saw him jump, so we are afraid to say it was a suicide for sure," Wallace said. Authorities also were trying to determine who (lamer may have been visiting and how he could have fallen from a fenced cat walk that leads to an enclosed fire escape tower, Pettit said "We art) trying to determine if there was anyone there that he knew.” Pettit said "So far, we have not been able to find any one." Fencing on both sides of the catwalk is about 5—feet tall, Pet tit said. Garner was in the dormitory when a smoke alarm on the dorm's seventh floor tripped a fire alarm about 7:25 p.m. Some students using the catwalk say they passed Garner Others on the ground saw him fall Garner was a sophomore who returned to classes in the win ter quarter after a two-year hia tus lie was enrolled in a single class and had declared no major. 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