OLYMPIA – Gov. Chris Gregoire on Friday said Seattle voters should be allowed to finally break the political stalemate over whether to replace the quake-damaged Alaskan Way viaduct along Seattle’s busy waterfront with a new elevated structure or a tunnel.
“We must move forward – we cannot delay,” the governor said.
Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels and key lawmakers warmed to the idea of a tie-breaking public vote.
The elevated bayshore freeway is a major north-south corridor through the city, carrying 110,000 vehicles a day. It’s widely viewed as vulnerable to collapse if the expected Big One shakes the city.
There is broad agreement on the need to tear down the 53-year-old roadway and spend billions of dollars on a replacement. The debate, which has roiled the city and the Legislature ever since the Nisqually Quake damaged the structure more than five years ago, has been over the design – a “cut-and-cover” tunnel that would allow greater use of the waterfront, or a cheaper replacement viaduct.
The Legislature, weary at the chronic dispute, authorized the governor to make the call.
She did that Friday – sort of.
The governor said if money weren’t an issue, she’d defer to the city leaders’ strong preference for a cut-and-cover tunnel. But cost is a big consideration and the city hasn’t come up with a workable plan for financing the extra costs of a tunnel, she hastened to add.
A replacement viaduct would cost roughly $2.8 billion and a tunnel about $4.6 billion. The Legislature has set aside $2.2 billion for the project.
On balance, simply building a new elevated roadway makes more financial sense, she said. It is “feasible and sufficient” and protects the taxpayers, she said.
But she said no matter what she decided, the issue still is high-centered, with the city threatening to withhold permits or filing lawsuits to stop a replacement viaduct – and some key legislators refusing to back a tunnel.
Her answer: Let the voters in Seattle make the choice, with the city agreeing to be responsible for the extra costs of about $1.8 billion.
She said she would abide by the outcome. If Seattle and the Legislature also agree to be bound by the vote, then delay and gridlock will end, she said.
Gregoire has long supported a definitive vote in Seattle. The City Council had planned an advisory vote, but later dropped the idea.
Nickels, who attended the governor’s news conference at the Capitol, accepted her idea, saying he will ask the City Council to put the issue before the voters this spring.
“We welcome a vote of the people and we believe that all of the requirements the governor laid out are achievable,” he said.
The legislative reaction to Gregoire’s plan was mixed, but some Democratic leaders said the Legislature probably will go along.
Senate Transportation Chairwoman Mary Margaret Haugen, D-Camano Island, called it “an extraordinarily wise decision” and perhaps the only way the logjam can be broken.
“It’s a good way for everyone to save face,” she said.
House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler, D-Hoquiam, said the Legislature is unlikely to stop the tunnel if local voters want it and are willing to pay the freight.
House Speaker Frank Chopp, D-Seattle, though, noted that Gregoire called the tunnel financing not feasible. He stopped short of saying he’d block it in the Legislature, but added, “We cannot afford a tunnel when other critical projects, such as replacing the 520 bridge, also need funding.”
House Appropriations Chairwoman Helen Sommers, D-Seattle, called it “pretty astute,” but said she isn’t ready to say she’d abide by a decision to build the tunnel.
Sen.-elect Ed Murray, D-Seattle, the outgoing chairman of the House Transportation Committee and whose district includes the viaduct, had concerns about tossing the issue to voters.
“I think that elected officials, not voters, should make these decisions,” said Murray, who supports a tunnel. “These are complex issues. We in the Legislature, or in city government, were elected to make these tough decisions.”
Two key Republicans agreed.
The Legislature expected Gregoire to make the decision, “but she instead punted to the Seattle voters,” said Sen. Dan Swecker, R-Rochester. “Her decision to punt just delays this whole process.”
Rep. Doug Ericksen, R-Bellingham, deputy Republican leader, said: “The Seattle vote really irritates me. She’s punting.”
Gregoire addressed another major Seattle-area transportation project by saying the state should build a new six-lane span to replace the Evergreen Point floating bridge that carries Highway 520 across Lake Washington. Two of the lanes would be dedicated to transit and car pool use.
The 1964 bridge is one of two floating spans that links Seattle and its eastern suburbs. Aging and vulnerable to storms, it carries 115,000 vehicles daily.
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