More evidence that Washington infrastructure collapse is over-hyped

Fear is a great tool for stampeding voters to spend, spend, spend unnecessarily. That is exactly what has been playing out for the Alaskan Way Viaduct.
The State DOT first announced that their criteria for replacement/repair was to stay within the available State funds (first $2.3 million then raised to $2.8 million), cause the least disruption of business and public access in the Viaduct corridor, maintain the current traffic volumes (110k vehicle trips/day) and complete the repair/replacement in the shortest period of time.
During the past "7" year planning process to date, the one solution that meets these criteria has been constantly been put down by WSDOT without an accurate cost and structural engineering comparison to other more expeensive, more disruptive and more fringe expenditures. That solution is the RETROFITing of the Viaduct. The facts are:
Only one bay had sufferred in the quake and WSDOT has estimated it's repair at $5 million. It is underway.
WSDOT is unrealistically using a standard for earthquake frequency that greatly exceeds the norm ($2500 yr vs 500 yr) causing the structural requirements to be very expensive unnessasrily.
Th RETROFIT can be done with very little disruption in the corridor.
There would be NO disruption of traffic volumes during and after construction
And, the RETROFIT cn be accomplished well within th State funds available, allowing for the transfer of as much as $1 million to replace the 520 bridge project. This transfer would greatly reduce the need for tolls on the bridge.
But as long as the WSDOT continues to yell Chicken-Licken the sky is falling by making people feel the whole structure is sinking, they have lied their way into some very expensive cures.
This is a Transportation repair project. Not a seawall repair project, Not a waterfront planning project. Not a create a new interchange at the stadiums project.
It was an emergency that, had the Governor acted right after the quake, could have made the repairs and be done with it. But no, she was lobbied by Labor and Concete sectors and the City of Seattle to replace it. HUMPH!
Well, we're still driving on it after 7+ years after the quake, the sinking bay is being stabilized, and precious funds are being spent on creating an interchange ($900 million) to the South that never was in the scope of work, possibly reducing the ability of funds remaining to accomplish anything. Those funds could be the dollars that could be sent to the 520 project.
Renowned Structural Engineer Victor Grey has been given the proverbial stiff-arm by WSDOT as the leader of the RETROFIT PRESERVATION GROUP when trying unsuccssfully to show that the RETROFIT CAN be done within ALL the States criteria. The Govrnor won't meet with the Group , only sending her flack-catchers to give them lip service and not spending the few thousand dollars needed to prove the Groups viability.
So, with no end of planning and arguing in sight, the head of State Transportatoion (Governor) has prejudiced the citizens to spend, spend, spend unnecessarily.
Art

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There's an old saying "the cost is the benefit." The higher the cost, the more certain interest groups benefit.

I personally have a very hard time evaluating the engineering of the retrofit, or what the level of earthquake damage could be under a one in a thousand quake as opposed to a one in 2500 year quake. I do think with the viaduct corridor we have an opportunity to improve mobility and bus rapid transit in the corridor through downtown Seattle which might mean something different than a replacement. However, no one seems to be asking how we can improve mobility at this point.

The recent Sound Transit survey had a very telling omission: it asked about all sorts of transit projects, it added a very loaded question about more road expansion, but it had nothing about the priority of maintaining what we have. There really are some bridges, like the South Park bridge, that are in bad shape. But it is amazing to think of the billions we're spending without fixing those types of structures. It really is a question of priorities.

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"the cost is the benefit" is new to me but I will try to remember it. Sure applies here.

Kurt, you have noticed that the call to patriotism and bond issue approval in Seattle has become ".... and the existing structure does not meet current earthquake standards".

It is a line intended to nullify curmudgeonly resistance.

Like:
"....it's completely HiDef ready." or, "... line caught."

Usually works.

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