Alaskan Way Viaduct Decision Goes to Governor

Earlier in the week it looked as if Mayor Nickels' plan to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct with a tunnel had run out of time. Olympia lawmakers wanted him to present a funding package by April 1, an almost impossible task given the project's 3 to 4 billion dollar cost.

Yesterday, the state House approved a plan that would give Governor Christine Gregoire until January 1 to decide the future of the viaduct. The plan now moves on to the state Senate.

The new plan hinged on a deal lawmakers had reached with God to hold off on a major Seattle earthquake if an extension was approved. However, He told the PI that if voters uphold the civil rights legislation this fall, we will have to be punished some other way.

The viaduct, which was constructed in the early 1950s, was damaged during the 2001 Nisqually Quake. Experts agree that the thing is coming down sooner or later, so we might as well do it ourselves and not wait until a school bus full of children is on top. However, if it falls down during March's St. Paddy's Day Dash, it may increase overall times.

The three plans for replacing the structure include the tunnel option, turning Alaskan Way into a multi-lane boulevard, or a re-build. Mayor Nickels prefers the tunnel because he feels it will open up the waterfront for development and civic use. Critics point out that this will cost billions more than the other two solutions, and, as the Stranger wrote last week, would cut off Pioneer Square from the water and forever change the Market.

This being Seattle, it has taken five years to get to the point where we are giving ourselves nine more months to come to a decision which will lead to many disgruntled parties, lawsuits, an initiative process, and the first of many public votes.