Now that the city, state, and county have agreed on a "solution" to the Alaskan Way Viaduct problem*, I'm getting deluged with emails from supporters of the "Elliott Bay Bridge"—a fantastical cable-stayed bridge across Elliott Bay. Perhaps they figure that as long as everyone's getting behind a solution that we can't possibly afford, why not at least make it pretty?

* Footnote 1: I'm increasingly convinced the one-percent-designed deep-bore tunnel will never happen, which will be great news for supporters of the surface/transit option... if and only if the viaduct gets torn down before construction on any alternative starts.**

** Footnote 2: If, instead, the viaduct stays up through construction, Christine Gregoire will have to break her promise to tear the thing down by 2012, making it a guaranteed campaign issue in the next gubernatorial election, whether or not Gregoire runs again.