The Deep-Bore Boondoggle Marches On
A King County Superior Court Judge has ruled that Initiative 101, which anti-tunnel advocates hoped would permanently scuttle the deep-bore boondoggle, is not eligible for the fall ballot. The initiative would have banned the City of Seattle from using city streets for tunnel construction, which even a layman can see presents some insurmountable logistical problems, and probably would have permanently stalled the project. But Judge Joan DuBuque ruled today that the initiative usurped authority specifically granted to the Council and the Mayor, and so is not legal in its current form.
Supporters of the tunnel say that the ailing Alaska Way Viaduct needs a modern replacement, and a deep-bore car tunnel is the ticket to reduce traffic and open up the waterfront. Detractors favor a less car-centric solution, and point to studies which suggest that the city's traffic problems would not be so bad, even if we just tore down the Viaduct and let drivers take the existing surface streets. Practical concerns aside, the cost of building a deep bore tunnel also looms over the project: the price tag will certainly be in the billions, some are estimating up to $4 billion, and all coming at a time when budget austerity and belt-tightening are the order of the day for even such core services as law enforcement and education.
Anti-tunnel activists will have an opportunity to appeal the judge's decision, but it's increasingly looking like if the tunnel is to be stopped, it will not be by public referendum.
