SEATTLE, Wash. — Seattle's North Transfer Station on North 34th Street in Fremont closed down on Monday evening to make way for a new state-of-the-art facility.
For customers like Tom Varner, this means it'll take a longer drive to the South Transfer Station at 130 South Kenyon St. in South Park to dump oversized garbage.
It's 10.5 miles from the North Transfer Station to the South Transfer Station. We drove the route in light traffic and the trip took about 20 minutes.
"I was joking with my wife, " 'We'll take the kids and go down to Seward park...the same day we go to the dump.' But we couldn't fit the kids and the garbage anyway," said Varner.
In the next two years the old dump will be demolished and will be rebuilt from the ground up. It's estimated to cost $92.4 million to build.
"If they're going to make this a much better situation, I’m OK with that," added Varner.
Workers at the old dump noted a flurry of last-minute customers in the days leading to the closing.
"More and more people are starting to realize this is going to be the last day to get rid of the materials," said Anthony Grant, who worked at the North Transfer Station.
Though Seattle Public Utilities offers pick up of bulk items, many people choose to bring their garbage to the dump to get rid of their clutter quicker.
"After 30 years I got used to having this down here," said Paul Olsen.
The North Seattle Transfer Station was built more than 50 years ago.
SPU encourages customers to use the bulk pick up service while the new transfer station is being built.
The city charges the same fee for bulk pick up as dropping off items at the dump.
KIRO
