Warren Aakervick notes that there are only three major truck routes running north to south in the city of Seattle: I-5, SR-99 and 15th Avenue Northwest. But for the owner of Ballard Oil, gridlock traffic is not just a commuter inconvenience, it is a threat to the maritime industry.

“The largest fishing industry in this nation works out of Seattle," Aakervick said. "Most of the people in that industry live in the Seattle area. It’s billions of dollars to our economy each year. And, nobody can do the things we do or move the amount of fuel that we move."

The debate surrounding replacement of the Alaskan Way Viaduct project began nine years ago when the structure was damaged in the 2001 Nisqually Earthquake. After scores of exhaustive meetings and hundreds of questions raised, the Seattle City Council selected a north-south tunnel as the preferred option in October of 2009.

Alternatives included a surface route or repairing the current viaduct. But, city officials feared further congestion and even greater expenses down the line.

The tunnel would move traffic under downtown Seattle and is estimated by WSDOT to cost $1.96 million (or $3.1 billion for the entire replacement project). A final decision has been postponed until more accurate appraisals are received early next year.

While construction will be restricted to downtown Seattle, the benefits and potential consequences will be felt statewide. On the positive side, Ballardites expect the project to help businesses, connect the north corridor with the south and provide alternative routes for freight.

“The entire fishing industry and now the cruise industry is north of downtown," said Aakervick. "And, all of our supplies and everything we need is south of downtown.”

An elevated structure would have been the best possible outcome, he said. The large freight trucks used to transport his company’s petroleum products will not have access to an underground tunnel because of their hazardous content and combustibility.

But, Aakervick is facing the reality of broad political support for the tunnel.

“If I can’t have an elevated structure from my world, at least give us a tunnel that would get the traffic off the streets so it’s staggered and not all on the surface.”

Despite $300 million of proposed funding by the Port of Seattle and Gov. Chris Gregoire’s reassurance that cost overruns will not become the taxpayer’s burden, there is always the possibility that the project will go over budget.

“From my perspective, the state has an obligation to put in a transportation corridor to alleviate the congestion," Aakervick said. "Whatever the cost is, [the state] should do it.”

For Kevin Carrabine, a member of the Sunset Hill Community Association, the project arouses memories of the monorail tug-of-war. The Ballard resident is not a strong proponent of any of the three options, but he said he shares Mayor Mike McGinn’s concerns about cost overruns.

“I have two minds because I understand on the one hand the risk in delaying and the potential for the bidding climate to change and costs to go up," Carrabine said. "It’s one thing to say we think we’ll get [funding] here. But, for a project of this magnitude and knowing the evidence that 40 percent of projects like this are over budget, it makes sense to sort out where the money is coming from.”

Like Aakervick, 36th District Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson didn’t initially support the tunnel option, but she said postponing the project would cost the city more money.

“I don’t think we can afford to do much bickering now about should it really be the tunnel or should it be something else," Dickerson said. "If the cost projections come in similar to the ones that we’ve seen before, then we should go ahead with the tunnel.”

It's important to move forward because SR-99 and the Alaskan Way Viaduct is a highway of regional importance, she said.

In the meantime, Seattle Citizens Against the Tunnel filed an initiative with the city July 29 that would force a public vote on the viaduct replacement plan.