New sculpture park may be delayed by strike

The Seattle Art Museum's long-delayed Olympic Sculpture Park, slated to debut Oct. 28, is facing another possible setback, this time because of a strike by King County concrete workers, now in its fourth week.

"We are continuing with construction, but we have been affected by the dwindling concrete supply. At the moment, we don't know how this will affect the park and the opening date," said SAM spokeswoman Erika Lindsay. "We're still installing art. We're still doing landscaping. ... There's a lot of factors we just don't know."

Members of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 302 overwhelmingly turned down a contract offer Sunday night that could have ended the strike. The walkout has affected other local construction work as well, including highway, transit, sewage, apartment, condominium and commercial projects, said Allan B. Darr, the union's business manager.

SAM officials first began fundraising to acquire land for the sculpture garden in 1999 and initially projected that the park would open in 2003.

But plans were held up after the Nisqually earthquake of 2001, Lindsay said, when the city undertook an assessment of the Alaskan Way Viaduct and seawall.

The planning setback was the result of an early proposal to run the viaduct under part of the park property. Even after the city dropped that plan, it took time for the museum to get back up to construction speed.

"We had to put our whole team on hold," Lindsay said.

The nine-acre site, adjacent to Myrtle Edwards Park, will include a number of large-scale permanent sculptures, including Alexander Calder's "Eagle" and the recently installed 300-ton "Wake" by Richard Serra, as well as a pavilion with exhibition space, a cafe, restrooms and a gift shop. Admission to the park will be free.

The park's layout zigzags from Western Avenue to the waterfront, bridging city traffic and railroad tracks on its path to the shore.

With sweeping views of Elliott Bay and the Olympic Mountains, the park will include 554 trees and 900 feet of restored beachfront — the only strip of natural waterfront in downtown.

Material from Seattle Times business reporter Bibeka Shrestha and The Associated Press is included in this report.

Sheila Farr: sfarr@seattletimes.com