Council backs tunnel to replace viaduct

SEATTLE – The Seattle City Council selected a tunnel as its choice for replacing the city’s aging Alaskan Way Viaduct, but opted to leave the issue off the ballot for consideration by voters.

Instead, Gov. Chris Gregoire will take the next few months to decide how to replace the 53-year-old elevated roadway.

Gregoire hasn’t indicated whether she prefers a tunnel or a new elevated structure, but she had hoped for citizen guidance on the contentious issue.

The governor was disappointed it was not going to be on this fall’s ballot as an advisory vote but will make a choice by the end of the year, Gregoire spokeswoman Kristin Jacobsen said.

“There needs to be a decision made, but there’s no date set right now,” Jacobsen said.

The viaduct was built in the 1950s and carries state Route 99 across the downtown waterfront, rising about 60 feet above the parking spots and roadways beneath it.

The structure was rattled by the magnitude 6.8 Nisqually Quake in 2001, prompting $3.5 million in repairs and semiannual inspections. State engineers say they believe it could be incapacitated by another major quake. The highway carries more than 100,000 vehicles daily.