Nickel's and Drago's "hybrid" tunnel-surface ballot language hustled off to King County Elections before Friday's deadline should be called the "High-Bread" option.
It is half-baked with no confidence in the $3.4 Billion cost they've cooked up. Washington State Department of Transportation says it will take three months to verify this recipe.
"High-Bread" because $3.4 billion is $1 billion more than a brand new elevated structure and $2 billion more than a retrofit. Serious bread!
What was advanced Friday by the Clowncil (editor note: "clowncil" is not a typo!) faction at City Hall will become a worthless opinion poll. The election's $1 million bill alone will divert bread from the tables of Seattle families. And, if voters actually get suckered - Olympia caves - a tunnel will trigger $500 million of unfunded gas, water and electric utility relocations along the waterfront. Surcharges for this work will show up on City Light, Seattle Public Utilities, telephone and gas bills making life in Seattle more expensive for every family and business. About as tasty as burnt toast.
Today the Alaskan Way Viaduct separates automobile and freight traffic from muscle-powered mobility along our waterfront. A retrofitted or new elevated structure will continue to offer that same safety and environmental benefit. Many improvements will be designed.
From a tunnel of any flavor emissions will have to be exhausted (near Pike Street Market we've heard), lights must be burned 24/7 and groundwater must be pumped. This will cost taxpayers $10 million annually and be a huge carbon footprint, to boot.
A retrofit will make the viaduct better than new for less than $1 billion. A new viaduct has been estimated at $2.4 billion. Their "high-bread" tunnel with only two lanes each north and south direction will come without critically needed merge lanes that now smooth traffic flow from Elliot, Columbia and First Avenue and ease exits at Seneca, Western and First Avenue.
Two miles of resulting subterranean and surface congestion would cost us $3.4 billion for the privilege.
Sorry, our brains aren't mush and we don't have the dough!
Craig Keller
Alki
