By Patrick Robinson and David Rosen

Two portable school buildings were being moved, inch by inch down an alley adjacent to Lafayette Elementary on California Ave. s.w. on Sunday night, June 24. The 14 x 64 foot buildings contain four classrooms and had to be moved very slowly because of the tight space next to the school. When assembled the unit will be 28 feet wide by 64 feet long.

The contractor was aiming at being done by 12 midnight but that was not working out since there was a truck parked on the shoulder that prevented progress.

Chris Tyler, Operations Manager for the Washington State Division of Modern Building Systems said they were contracted by the Seattle Public Schools to install 13 of the portables throughout the school district. "To make it work with everybody's schedule we do it at night. So it's just a matter of making it fit down this little alley. We've got about six inches to spare on each side of the building so it's a matter of crawling and taking our time."

The company works in many locations on the west coast.

The operation closed California Avenue and Tyler said it would likely take most of the night to get the building in place. They were using a remote control "mini-cat" to drive the building into where it will finally sit.