Seattle mayoral candidate Mike McGinn may want to put the brakes on the tunnel project, but the state's transportation department is moving ahead regardless.
WSDOT issued a request for qualifications today to contractors interested in building the proposed SR 99 bored tunnel to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct. It's the first step in the process to select a design-build contractor to deliver the tunnel project.
In a press release, state transportation secretary Paula Hammond said,“This project is another step toward replacing the aging and vulnerable Viaduct
Then Hammond seems to completely ignore McGinn, focusing on the city's agreement with the state, the county, and other governments to build the tunnel. Hammond said, "Agreement with the City of Seattle and King County to build the SR 99 bored tunnel means we can begin the process of selecting a contracting team for what will be the largest Viaduct replacement contract. We’re expecting some of the top engineering and construction teams to express interest in this world class project.”
We asked the state about whether McGinn's campaign factors into the thinking. There was no immediate response. But state lawmakers have said they plan to move forward.
Meanwhile, Josh Feit has a good take on the the excellent piece in the Times laying out the viaduct debate. Feit notes on his politics site, Publicola, that it's one thing to rally opposition against the tunnel. It's another to rally support for his alternative -- widening I-5, pushing traffic from the viaduct on to city streets, and getting more people on to transit.
Feit writes, "now that it’s the general and McGinn has to flesh out his “No Tunnel!” position with his idelalistic surface transit option, the cranky, lesser-Seattle crowd (which wants a rebuild and not a surface transit option) may get wise that McGinn is not their thing."
Opponent Joe Mallahan, who'd move ahead with the tunnel, has been saying he'd move the city forward. And his spokeswoman Charla Neuman said this morning that McGinn's position would mean "deadlock and gridlock" with the state.
