News Jul 22, 2010 at 4:00 am

And the Project Hasn't Even Started Yet

Comments

1
Dom, this is really getting quite tedious. Beating a dead horse. You don't like cars. We get it. Now please move on.
2
Am worried that we not being given the entire cost, especially the cost once completed. Do not see anywhere the ongoing cost, which the current viaduct does not require. There will be large energy cost for ventilation. There will need to be water pumps. Energy for the lights. Cost for continual monitoring. Is the state going to cover this? Don't think so. It will be the Seattle residents who will be paying for these over the life of the tunnel. {PS - can someone fight tunnel tolls?}
3
One can fight this by living closer to work. Sink the floating bridges.
4
Frank Chopp is lying. I called his office soon after this legislation passed in 2009 to complain that he had inserted this language into the bill. I spoke at length with his chief of staff who agreed it had been inserted at Chopp's insistence. Mr. Holden, if a politican you disagreed with had done this you would quickly and forecefully point out his mendacity. Why not call out Frank Chopp's lie too?
5
Who is going to do the expose on the Stranger and Dominic Holden? Seattle Times? Seattle P-I? Crosscut? There is nothing that resembles reporting in the Stranger on the subject of the Deep Bore Tunnel. You aren't asking what happens in Seattle if we don't build the tunnel. Will McGinn be empowered? Maybe initially in Seattle but probably not when people realize the consequences: Seattle will not get a timely $2 billion investment and a beautiful new waterfront. And McGinn will be persona non grata at the state level. Where will that get the environmental and livable city movements?
6
Personally, I think they should just leave the viaduct as-is until it finally collapses and kills a bunch of people.

We've only been arguing about how to replace it since before I was born. Let's just admit that we don't really want to do anything about it at all and move onto something we actually care about doing.
7
From The Seattle Times April 22, 2009:
"The vote came after House Democratic leaders added a controversial provision to the bill -- at the insistence of House Speaker Frank Chopp -- that requires downtown Seattle property owners to pay for any cost overruns related to digging the tunnel."
From The News Tribune May 12, 2009:
"I thought Gov. Chris Gregoire might veto the provision in the bill that lays any cost overruns for the tunnel in the lap of downtown Seattle businesses that benefit from having the viaduct removed from the Seattle waterfront. But I'm told there was a deal to keep House Speaker Frank Chopp's language in the bill."
From Seattle PI May 7. 2009:
"That proviso from House Speaker Frank Chopp, D-Seattle, requires city tax payers to cover cost overruns on the tunnel project."
You need to do more careful research Mr. Holden!

8
Maybe Dom's DeeplyBored tunnel=one big clusterfuck hole obsession and Charles's buildings-like-TheColumbiaTower-are-big-erections,get-it-get-it? obsession should get a room and fuck each other senseless already.

I think there's a big old hanger in Boeing's Everett plant that would suffice, size-wise, ...but I don't know if they charge hourly rates.
9
"Widest deep-bore tunnel?" Come on stranger. Hypebole's great, but you cite this like a fact. What about tunnels in other countries? Switzerland builds tunnels all the time through mountains. What about the Gotthard Tunnel in Switzerland? The first Gotthard tunnel was completed in 1881 and is 15 kiloeters long. Since then they've built a rail tunnel and are completing a deeper tunnel.

Tunneling may have challnges, but lets put this into perspective. Apprently other countries don't have all the problems you're predicting.
10
Public works in Seattle have a very poor track record. Think I-90 sinking bridge and the KingDome as well as the viaduct itself. This is likely another half-assed and incompetent project being foisted on the taxpayers. Do we really want a Big Dig West?
12
News? I saw most of this story in the "other" Seattle newspaper over ten days ago. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/lo…
13
listen up every body. I say we build a big beautiful rainbow that goes way up in the sky and has all the colors and everything, we can have the federal government send us 500 billion dollars and .... well wouldn't that be great!!!
What a bunch of idiotic hippies this town is infested with.
Do you have ANY IDEA what the realities of attempting to do a deep bore tunnel under the existing viaduct will be? That entire area is sitting on fill. they will run into old pilings and who knows what else then they will basically be in elliot bay. I will tell you right now that the tunnell will cost 2X the original budget and I don't believe it can be done successfully in 10 years.

SPACE HIPPIES - REBUILD/RETRO FIT THE VIADUCT
14
Its the Idiot factor involved? We want a better traffic system and a cool rebuild of the water front would be nice but the factors are the state cant afford to keep criminals in jail and cant afford the police to put them there after they have made every road a toll road and even taxed candy?

The question for the state and the city is what the hell were you thinking?
15
Aww crocodile tears for the city that chose the project they knew there was not full funding for after pissing off the rest of the state,(like always with any project that touches your toxic boundaries) who had to vote on the funding plan for it. Maybe next time you will get your acts together, think of this as the though love learning experience.
17
Maybe Dick Falkenberry can get amother initiative going to build alternative transportations systems like yellow submarines or magic busses.
18
Yet again this shows the ineffectivity of our form of representative government. With no threat of effective remedial action when a politician lies and is caught at it they wil continue to lie and do whatever they want whenever they want. This problem has been rampant since the Bush era when no one cared whothey put into office. This kind of corruption is insidious and must be stopped. I nominate The Flobots to lead a grassroots campaign against political corruption and greed.
19
INCREDIBLE WORK - EXCELLENT RESEARCH!!!!!

As you may see by going to http://theactsofprovidence.biz/page2012.… the odds of construction disasters is SIGNIFICANT is started any time before July 2012. As you may see by going to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAo2Bbm4B… LRT is another $24+BB LIE and the STIMULUS PACKAGE - a dissection of WA STATE $$$ may be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hTgUYMDM…

ROCK ON!!!!!
20
To Answer Sgt. Doom - the reality is that Gregoire is under pressure to pimp the project from her campaign contributors which just happen to include the Engineering Firm that put BOSTON'S BIG DIG together... and is ironically ran in part by former Sec. of State George Shultz (R). Something that blows Godden's outrage when she claims it is not the Big Dig when in fact that is exactly what it is.

TWO THUMBS UP TO MAYOR McGINN for STANDING UP TO GREGOIRE ON THIS!!!!!!
21
The Stranger is just NOW picking up on the fact the Gregoire is a "stranger" to the truth?

You guys ignored her when she said WA budget had a surplus...a lie that was exposed shortly after the election in 2008.

You get what ya vote for ya foolish bunch of
left wing nuts!

If ya sleep with stray dogs don't bitch about the fleas on the sheets...

22
maxbell has an excellent point. Bullet train or sub-orbital space travel anyone? Lol
23
Building that tunnel is irresponsible. Just close your eyes and pretend everything is gunna be ok, but , in fact we know it's NOT!
Picture your property taxes being raised exponentially, or, for that matter, your rent, as higher taxes affect that as well.
Cover the damn viaduct in Ivy, that stuff will probably work just as well as any roll of 'Duct' tape for a quick fix. And, it'll be much prettier.
It's way better that being crushed by a collapsed tunnel we never should've built.

Please wait...

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