Voting on options for replacing the Alaskan Way Viaduct is the biggest waste of time and a million dollars we have seen in a long time. The best that can be said for the exercise is that some giant political egos may become squashed.

The entire fight over the viaduct shows once again that our Seattle society has slipped off the rails and the animals are in charge of the zoo.

Let's start at the beginning. Some very knowlegable and experienced people have said over and over that the viaduct does not need to be replaced, it simply needs two damaged sections need to be replaced or fixed and that the rest needs to be upgraded and strengthened.

The city and state powers do not respond with facts, but with rhetoric and hype. They suggest that ugliness is more important that durability. If they once gave us some sound facts that the roadway is unsalvagable, we might listen, but the fact is there are no facts given, just noise.

Then the mayor and his tunnel vision dream. To be frank, a tunnel from Qwest Field and connecting with the Battery Street tunnel is a good idea we would support if there was any money to make it happen. The mayor for a year said there was financing, but it turned out he was counting on future governments to make future decisions on money. All he really had was the money the Legislature appropriated for a replacement viaduct and legislative leaders who say no more money and none for a tunnel.

The $2.8 billion appropriated and available for a replacement viaduct is all that is available or likely to be available for a long, long time.

That brings us to the tunnel. First was a tunnel of six lanes but it cost too much, so the mayor came up with the fast food equivalent of a cheapy tunnel. The state quickly and correctly said it was a dangerous idea - think about being trapped there because of somebody's flat tire, let alone being there in a major accident, earthquake or tsunami.

If there were to be a tunnel, we can expect the parks along the waterfront to be the yards for all the folks in their multi-million dollar condominiums that will wall the city from a view of the bay and sound. The mayor's proclaimed open waterfront will be little more than a place for the wealthy to walk the dog.

So now we have an election that will simply start the squabbling all over again, probably aided by lawyers and lawsuits. What happens if the people say no to both the tunnel and rebuild? The state will reject that solution and the lawyers will crank up to stop a new viaduct - the mayor says he will fight to the death over a new viaduct.

Where will the money come if the people vote for the tunnel. The state says no, the Congress has a huge war debt and says no. So, Seattle taxpayer, you may well get a tunnel and a $2 billion additional bill. That ought to make the downtown business establishment happy.

So, send your ballot back on March 13 but steady yourself the the next round of political squabbling and no action. Remember how long it took to build that third runway at SeaTac? And how much it eventually cost us?

-Jack Mayne