Viaduct proposal rejected ahead of vote

OLYMPIA – Gov. Chris Gregoire and lawmakers rejected Seattle’s scaled-down proposal for a waterfront tunnel Tuesday, with the governor saying the only option is to move ahead with building another elevated highway to replace the aging, earthquake-damaged Alaskan Way Viaduct.

Gregoire said in a statement that a Department of Transportation review showed the tunnel proposal “does not meet state and federal safety standards.”

“Furthermore, an accident where people could not escape this tunnel could prove catastrophic. To move forward with that option would simply be irresponsible,” she said.

Gregoire’s comments came after state Transportation Secretary Doug MacDonald sent her a letter saying he “cannot recommend to you approval of this proposal as an acceptable viaduct replacement option.” He said there were too many operational and safety concerns with the $3.4 billion tunnel design.

The city has scheduled a March 13 public advisory vote on the tunnel proposal and the cheaper rebuild of the viaduct. Mayor Greg Nickels’ spokeswoman, Marianne Bichsel, said the ballots were at the printer Tuesday, and there were no plans to change the language.

But Gregoire’s spokeswoman, Holly Armstrong, said that regardless of the outcome of Seattle’s election, the tunnel option is dead.

“She’s moving forward,” Armstrong said of the governor.

Bichsel said the governor and lawmakers will “ignore the voters at their own peril.”

But Seattle City Council President Nick Licata, a supporter of rebuilding the viaduct, called the March 13 election “pointless” and said he had called King County Elections to see if there was time to cancel it. He acknowledged he would need to get a majority of the council to support that move, something Bichsel said would not happen.

“We’re spending a million dollars for an election that people are telling us is worthless,” Licata said.

The governor’s decision came after House Speaker Frank Chopp, Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown, and Democratic and Republican transportation leaders in the Legislature released statements calling for replacing the viaduct with another elevated structure. That would cost about $2.8 billion, most already approved by the Legislature.

“Given what we know today, the state cannot support the city’s proposal to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct with a hybrid tunnel project,” said Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, D-Camano Island, chair of the Senate Transportation Committee. “It makes absolutely no sense to replace an unsafe viaduct with an unsafe tunnel.”

The ballot will allow city voters to say whether they prefer the tunnel, a new elevated structure, both plans or neither option.