Deciding Vote Due in March on Alaskan Way Viaduct

http://enr.construction.com/news/transportation/archives/070224.asp

"Deciding Vote Due in March on Alaskan Way Viaduct"
_Engineering News Record_ - 2/24/2007
Excerpt:

'Rebuilding Seattle?s Alaskan Way Viaduct?not replacing it with a
tunnel?is the only path forward, according to Washington Gov. Christine
Gregoire (D). Although the governor and state lawmakers have decided to
follow the state Dept. of Transportation?s advice and go with the
rebuild, Seattle city officials seem to have ignored the memo. Next
month, voters will weigh in through a non-binding vote on the rebuild
vs. tunnel question. City officials are also once again considering the
surface model, in which the viaduct would be replaced with a fast-paced
boulevard that would carry up to 70,000 vehicles a day.'

'Since December 2004, Seattle officials have been campaigning to replace
the 1953 double-decker freeway with a mile-long tunnel in an effort to
open up its waterfront. Their plan was to tear down the viaduct, which
was significantly damaged in the 2001 Nisqually earthquake. Then
contractors would build a six-lane cut-and-cover tunnel to carry the
roughly 110,000 vehicles traveling the freeway daily. In the last two
years, the tunnel option ballooned from an estimated $3.1 billion to
$4.6 billion. Meanwhile, rebuilding the 2.2-mile freeway would cost $2
billion to $2.4 billion. In 2005, Washington State dedicated $2 billion
to the viaduct project from its gas-tax revenues. Still, city officials
pushed forward with the tunnel plan.'

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