The city is proposing to double the width of the Spokane Street Viaduct and make other improvements in the West Seattle link to Interstate 5, downtown and points north and east.

So why aren't we cheering and slapping the backs of our city leaders?

Maybe it is because of these words in Tim St. Clair's story on Page One:

"The timing for construction is up in the air. City officials want the expansion project completed before work starts on the Alaskan Way Viaduct. However, enough money to cut a tunnel to replace the waterfront viaduct is still in question."

In other words, folks, we haven't got the money and we really have no way of knowing if and when we ever will. All the city really has is the $2 billion the Legislature laid out for the project last year with top officials still clinging to the grand idea of a waterfront tunnel - a nice idea but one with a $4+ billion price tag.

We note that King County-run Metro found a serious problem with a main sewer line through Lincoln Park and said they would immediately replace the crumbling line (also a story on Page One). Their budgeting process seems to be up to the task of doing what needs to be done.

For years, there have been talks about the widening of the Spokane Street Viaduct. That absurd hard right onto Fourth Avenue was probably engineered by the same guy who made traffic go across four busy lanes to get from the Mercer on-ramp to the 520 off-ramp.

We cheer the engineers who have figured out a rather good redesign that will cost relatively little as these projects go, about $145 million. The improvements will make the roadway a much better way to get to and from Interstate 5. We hope the city can find the money to carry out the project.

But it is the aforementioned Interstate 5 that is the problem that this project cannot fix. Getting to I-5 will be easier only if that jammed freeway isn't jammed but that isn't likely anytime during even the late commute period. It will be no less frustrating for West Seattle and North Highline commuters to sit on a freshly minted new Spokane Street Viaduct in a line of stalled traffic.

When the Alaskan Way Viaduct is out of service for whatever is done to replace it, it will mean a commute from hell for West Seattle people. Even if Metro improves bus service, the bus can go only as fast as the roadway allows. Even "bus-only" lanes merge at some point or cross other traffic lanes and stall the entire process - who knows when our legislators will decide to sell access to bus lanes to make some money to do some other project?

We hope against hope that someday we can have a finance plan to carry out these great engineering ideas to unwind our traffic nightmare.