Seattle council member signs environmental tunnel study for city despite objections by Mayor McGinn

Proposed tunnel for replacement of Seattle Alaskan Way Viaduct

Proposed tunnel for replacement of Seattle Alaskan Way Viaduct

The $2B tunnel project for the replacement of the Alaskan Way Viaduct crossed a major hurdle with the approval of a document that will allow the environmental studies for the project to continue. Mayor McGinn’s position is that more time was needed to evaluate the document and he was concerned that a tunnel option was a predetermined outcome of the study. He went even farther by alleging that WSDOT and the City Council conspired to ‘violate the city charter [regarding separation of powers] and state law’. Nevertheless, Councilman Conlin signed the document allowing WSDOT to continue their progress towards a construction contract in early 2011. [Source: Seattle Times Newspaper. Image: Seattle Times]