Sunday, March 26, 2000

By LAURENCE M. CRUZ
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Dust from the Kingdome's implosion could not only scratch cars but it could play havoc with computers in the neighborhood, too.

"If it gets into power supplies and monitors, it could clog them up and cause the machines to overheat," said Ivar Sandsmark, a desktop technician at Go.com's offices in Smith Tower, a prime viewing spot for the implosion. "It could fry the motherboards."

Employees at Go.com, which occupies floors 17 through 21 of the city's oldest skyscraper, received an e-mail from their boss last week instructing them to shut down all the computers over the weekend and to close all the windows.

"It's probably a wise idea; there's a lot of expensive equipment," Sandsmark said, noting each workstation costs about $1,500 and the company employs some 400 people. "Conceivably, it could actually destroy the machines."

Go.com, which produces ABCnews.com and ESPN sports, is just one of several high-tech companies to take up residence in the city's historic Pioneer Square district recently.

That's where demolition experts say most of the finer dust should fall, after being airborne for about 15 minutes on air currents largely generated by the collapse of the stadium's 25,000-ton roof.

A heavier form of implosion dust -- basically sand -- won't linger that long and, if all goes to plan, should cover the stadium's immediate vicinity in a mantle of dust up to 1 1/2 inches thick.

Area residents with respiratory problems have been urged to stay indoors, and people with vehicles in the area to hose off the dust, as wiping it off will scratch the finish.

As for damage to the inner workings of fancier cars, many of which rely on high-tech gadgetry, Sandsmark does not anticipate any problems.

Some of his colleagues leave their cars in the suburbs and bus into work. But he's not too worried about cars left in nearby parking garages.

He said the really fancy cars tend to predominate in the suburbs on the Eastside, where Microsoft is headquartered.

"We don't make that kind of money here," he said.

Not that there will be many cars in the vicinity.

Roads in the region will be snarled by closures and slowdowns beginning at least 30 minutes before the 8:30 a.m. implosion.

Interstate 5 express lanes, which run from downtown to Northgate, will be closed, and rolling slowdowns will begin 20 to 40 minutes before the blast on northbound I-5 at Boeing Field and southbound I-5 at Northgate.

Slowdowns will begin on westbound I-90 at the same time on Mercer Island, and all on-ramps and off-ramps to I-90 and I-5 will be closed to clear all traffic from the roadway before the blast.

Alaskan Way will be closed in both directions from 8 a.m., with southbound traffic exiting at Denny Way, northbound at East Marginal Way. But the southbound off-ramp to First Avenue South, near the Kingdome, will be shut down even earlier, at 5 a.m.