Results tagged “replacement”

According to this visualization of the tunnel viaduct replacement option, downtown is about to get very, very clean.

For those of you interested in why the hell everyone thinks a tunnel is such a hot idea, Gov. Christine Gregoire will be on on KUOW 94.9 FM this afternoon at 1 p.m. She'll (hopefully) have to explain her controversial decision to spend billions on a tunnel that doesn't increase traffic capacity (and decreases for the entire period it's under construction, between 4 and 10 years) while cutting budgets across the state government even as the public need for government services increases.

After years of debate, acrimony, and a vote or two thrown in, the is reporting that city, county, and state leaders have reached an agreement on the Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement: a deep-bore tunnel. For those unfamiliar with the concept, this is what you would actually call a "tunnel," whereas the mayor's original proposal was more like a big trench with a lid on top. The proposed plan is estimated to cost $2.8 billion in state money, with the above-ground improvement costs borne by the city. The news signals a reversal on the part of Gov. Gregoire, who previously supported the voters' decision to build neither a tunnel nor a new raised structure and instead concentrate on a streets and transit solution.

We thought it was a little optimistic of Sims, Gregoire and Nickels to say they would come up with a viaduct replacement recommendation by January 1st. Maybe that was just Seattlest projecting our own annual holiday brain-death, but it also had to do with the refusal of tunnel proponents to back down even though the bored-tunnel option was ostensibly removed from the negotiation table. At any rate, the trifecta of leaders issued a joint statement last night announcing that they aren't ready to recommend an option by their deadline:

As a result of the continued overwhelming response and input on replacement options from stakeholders, we have asked our respective transportation teams to continue their review. Once this information is in hand, and working closely together, a final recommendation will be made to the state Legislature in January. [...] We only have one chance to do this right.

One chance, stakeholders. The unsettling part of the statement isn't the delay, which was expected; it's the "stakeholder" terminology. Seattle became one giant corporation while we were sleeping, apparently. Guess the signs were there all along.

It's a fact that chambers of commerce are populated largely by jaw-dangling idiots; we joined a chamber once but dropped out after we kept trying to unlock our front door with a light bulb. That is why we're not surprised to hear that the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce is pushing what they call "surface-subsurface hybrid" as a replacement for the Alaskan Way Viaduct. The Seattle Times explains that charming "subsurface" nomenclature for you: "Washburn's idea is to put the viaduct traffic in a tunnel, either a deep-bore tunnel or a lidded trench." Hey, is this thing on? Seriously though, Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce, you guys wanna run the hat around? Got a few billion dollars? No. Oh. Then shut the fuck up.