Former Seattle mayor Greg Nickels liked to invoke Ronald Reagan when describing the Alaskan Way Viaduct. “Tear down this wall!” he would say at press conferences, referencing the raised highway’s wall-like qualities that cut downtown off from the waterfront.
Nickels, along with a bunch of other Democrats, wanted to bury Highway 99 in a tunnel in order to “reconnect our city to the water,” in his words.
Nickels and the rest of the gang got their wish. Taxpayers are forking over what will likely be more than $4 billion when the last bill is paid on this new tunnel. But after the viaduct comes down, it will not be replaced by the rolling parks a lot of us believed we would be getting along the waterfront. Nor will it be replaced with new buildings or vibrant street life.
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