Councilmember Jan Drago
Councilmember Richard McIver
COUNCILMEMBERS CELEBRATE GOOD NEWS FOR TUNNEL
The state’s Expert Review Panel finds finances “sound” and “reasonable”
Seattle – Today, the state’s Expert Review Panel released its long awaited report on the financial and technical feasibility of building a cut-and-cover tunnel to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct. The report says, in part, “[W]e accept the project’s funding assumptions as reasonable.” The Expert Review Panel found that the cost estimates by the Washington State Department of Transportation were “generally sound” and there were no “fatal flaws” with the tunnel’s financing.
“This report gives us the confidence to move forward with the tunnel now,” says Councilmember Jan Drago, chair of the Transportation Committee. “We have enough information on the finance and implementation plans to make a decision to reconnect Seattle to its waterfront for the next one hundred years.”
Councilmember Richard McIver, chair of the Finance and Budget Committee, says, “The report makes me feel very encouraged about the project.”
The Expert Review Panel stressed that the biggest problem for the project was “vacillation by political and civic leaders.”
Councilmember Drago agrees, “The highest risk to the project is indecision and delay. We need to begin tunnel construction on schedule. ”
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