And get ready to see the City of Seattle and Greg Nickels throw a childish temper tantrum in court. They aren’t going to like this at all, and they’ve already promised they’d be childish about this.

The legislature’s response to the DOT letter that concluded that the four-lane tunnel would be unsafe was very swift. You’d almost think they saw it coming. From the Seattle Times:

State legislative leaders today said Seattle’s tunnel proposal is dead.

The state, they said, has “no choice but to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct with an elevated structure.”

The prepared statement came in response to a state Department of Transportation letter that concluded Seattle’s proposal for a four-lane Alaskan Way tunnel should be dropped from further consideration. The DOT letter, released this morning, said there are “serious operational and safety problems found during our technical review.”

“It makes absolutely no sense to replace an unsafe Viaduct with an unsafe tunnel,” Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, D-Camano Island, chairwoman of the Senate Transportation Committee, said in a joint statement.

…

In the all-mail election — for which ballots must be postmarked by March 13 — Seattle voters will be asked to vote “yes” or “no” on whether they prefer an elevated or a tunnel.

… 

However, Seattle City Council President Nick Licata, who supports rebuilding the viaduct, said he has made a call to King County Elections to see how the city could cancel the March 13 election.

“I think it makes this election superfluous,” Licata said. “How can we ask voters to vote for something we know is seen as worthless by state legislators.”

He said he wants to see if the election could be stopped “because we’d be wasting $1 million. I think it’s a wasted effort.”

It won’t be too long before we see Greg Nickels and the Seattle City Council prove their childishness. Here’s some evidence that this is what we can expect…

• The city has passed an ordinance declaring an elevated viaduct “inconsistent” with use and height regulations and the city’s comprehensive plan. – Source: Seattle Times 11/21/2006.
• The city has said it could inflate the $2.8 billion cost of an elevated viaduct to nearly $5 billion by slowing permits, filing lawsuits and using other tactics to oppose the project. – Source: Seattle Times 11/21/2006.
• The city of Seattle owns major utilities within the right-of-way that must be relocated. Without full cooperation, significant delays are likely. – Source: Seattle Times 11/21/2006.
• Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels says the city “will not support” any option other than a multi-billion dollar tunnel to replace the aging Alaskan Way viaduct… – Source: Northwest Cable News 11/22/2006.
• A Department of Transportation study found that diverting viaduct traffic onto surface streets could increase congestion downtown from four hours a day to 13 hours a day. – Source: Northwest Cable News 11/22/2006.
• [Seattle City Council President Nick] Licata predicted that no matter what happens with a viaduct vote, extensive and expensive legal battles would follow. — Source: Seattle Times 12/21/2006.

Maybe, as SVC Alumnus says, this will become the viaduct to Olympia for the GOP.

Previous Posts:

• A six year-long public safety emergency mired in personal politics
• Not enough time to get it right
• Getting a vote on the viaduct is a challenge
• Tunnel not buried yet
• Tunnel almost buried
• Seattle City Council Balks at Vote?
• Governor: Give Voters the Choice
• King County Council conflicted over morality
• Mayor Nickels ready to act like spoiled child
• Seattle City Council among reasons viaduct cost could rise
• Do we need another big government agency for transit?
• More drivers, more time in gridlock

Cross posted at Perri Nelson’s Website