Posted Wed, Feb 17, 10:19 a.m.

It's unfortunate that at the same time the mayor supposedly wants to limit or eliminate cost overruns that he is intent on delaying the project with political games. The number one cause of cost overruns is delay, especially so in this advantageous bidding climate, because of inflation. That is the ...

Posted Fri, Jan 29, 11:45 a.m.

You can see the actual historic shoreline here... http://www.seattle.gov/dpd/cms/groups/pan/@pan/@plan/@proj/documents/web_informational/dpdp018623.pdf So PBC's trumped up reasoning to support the Mayor's new found concern for the waterfront is rediculous...unless the native communities along Seattle's waterfront lived under water. PBC and the Mayor want to accomplish 1 thing...DELAY the tunnel. They will try anything ...

Posted Sat, Sep 26, 4:42 p.m.

Tooley, Until MCGinn supporters can answer the basic question..."How will we pay for a $3.6B surface option, which has NO, ZERO, ZIP, ZILCH dollars identified for it, you can't claim that it is affordable. Remember, the 2.4B allocated to pay for 100% of the tunnel portion of the tunnel + ...

Posted Sat, Sep 26, 8:40 a.m.

Wells, Thanks for clarifying your position. Mercer is proposed as I've described it per presentations I've seen. See page 30 of this document. http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/NR/rdonlyres/D777316F-D98C-4A95-9F79-F0E111A5EA6C/0/AWV_North_Portal_Presentation_5_7_09.pdf

Posted Fri, Sep 25, 3:49 p.m.

@Wells, "The Deep-bore has two 'fatal flaws' centered around its lack of access at Western/Elliott: 40% of current AWV traffic using that access will be diverted to the new Alaskan Way. That's about 40,000 vehicles or 2500 per hour, plus side-street traffic, through 15-20 stoplights, 4-lanes or more likely 6-lanes. ...

Posted Fri, Sep 25, 3:37 p.m.

@tikunolem You asked me to use facts, and then you provide nothing but speculation. Here's facts answering your rhetoric. "The tunnel is fiscally irresponsible. We don't have the money. 1.3 Billion is unfunded. Another 570 million that we have no idea where we can even ge the money." The tunnel ...

Posted Fri, Sep 25, 8:51 a.m.

Here's what McGinn is REALLY for... More delay and discussion on the tunnel. Since delay is the #1 reason for overruns, he is FOR overruns. McGinn is for the most expensive option to Seattle taxpayers, the surface option. He wants to reject $2.4B state financing which is paying 100% of ...

Posted Wed, Aug 12, 3:46 p.m.

R on Beacon what works in other cities isn't guaranteed to work here no matter how thoughtful Cary's analysis was, she did not do a detailed analysis of what the impacts to Seattle would be. Speculation is just that. Were all the other cities constrained by the same topographic and ...

Posted Fri, Aug 7, 5:47 p.m.

LiviaRyan: Yes, the Brightwater project has had problems. Does that mean that the tunnel has more or less chance at success... Answer...it's not applicable, it's a seperate project. The boring machine will be amongst the largest in the world, that is true. But not by a significant amount, only 1 ...

Posted Fri, Aug 7, 12:06 p.m.

mhays, You are absolutely right. These projects (Viaduct, 520, etc.) have a huge impact on the neighborhoods they are routed through, affecting the liveability of those who live and work there. That is why the tunnel is the right choice, all the benefits of maintaining mobility (especially for freight and ...

Posted Thu, Aug 6, 3:48 p.m.

Mike, The Surface option was put forward by WSDOT, not the stakeholders. In fact it was the utter rejection by the stakeholders of the surface and elevated options that led to the third option of the bored tunnel. And yes Cascadia along with ARUP (one of the best engineering firms ...

Posted Thu, Aug 6, 2:45 p.m.

This project bears almost no resemblance to the big dig. Estimation and construction methods have changed dramatically since then. see here... http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/Viaduct/BigDigcomparison.htm or this article from a few years ago here... http://www.seattlepi.com/opinion/265616_bigdig06.html There will never be 100% "consensus" on this project...it's mythical. But the stakeholders who supported this option represented ...

Posted Thu, Aug 6, 1:50 p.m.

Let's look at what was on the table in late 2008 after WSDOT studied 8 variations ranging from 3 seperate surface options, 2 seperate elevated (including Frank Chopp's Box), and 3 options for a below grade option... Left standing were 2 options... An elevated 4-lane option (that had no downtown ...