Viaduct ballot lost in political fog

Last fall, when the Seattle City Council had a choice, it decided not to bother asking Seattle voters if they wanted to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct with a rebuilt elevated highway or a tunnel.

Never mind that Seattleites must pay the extra cost of the more expensive tunnel. Now that Gov. Christine Gregoire says the city must ask voters, the council is willing, grudgingly, to inquire but only with a ballot geared toward producing the most-favorable-possible outcome for the city's tunnel.

In several ways, the March 13 election is a calculated event that should be delayed until the council gets it right. Otherwise, the council flagrantly wastes voters' time and money associated with this special election.

This page favors an election to decide which option should be pursued. That is the only way to get this stalemated, important issue off high center. But we favor an honest and fair ballot question, not the goofy construct invented by the council.

First, the council refuses to ask voters to pick directly between the two options — do you prefer the tunnel or the rebuild? — for fear the more costly tunnel might not fare so well.

The council and Mayor Greg Nickels offered a smaller tunnel at the last minute, and they present this option in soft focus, to present the rosiest possible image.

The name of the tunnel itself is designed to win voters' support. The "Surface/Tunnel Hybrid" sounds like a popular automobile engine and suggests voters are getting a third option that was talked about but is not on the ballot: comprehensive expansion of surface Alaskan Way, promoted by some advocates.

The elevated rebuild is expected to cost $2.8 billion, with the money coming from the state and federal governments. The $2.8 billion figure has been vetted and is a reasonable cost estimate.

The tunnel, however, is expected to cost — maybe, nobody really knows — $3.4 billion. Don't count on it, transportation experts told a state Senate committee last Thursday. The cost ranges from $3.4 billion to $4.6 billion, meaning $3.4 billion is not a real number, it's just the smallest number they could find to put on the ballot.

Gov. Gregoire has said repeatedly Seattle taxpayers will pay costs above $2.8 billion, including cost overruns.

What does the ballot title say? It says, "The governor has said state and federal funds might not be available above $2,800,000,000." Is there a foggier way to tell Seattleites, "You're on the hook for the overruns"?

The March 13 vote has been purposely manhandled and should be rescheduled to reflect vetted facts. At it stands now, this bad public policy insults voters' intelligence while it wastes their time.