Viaduct expert panel calls it quits

A panel of outside experts, flown into Seattle this week to study a four-lane Alaskan Way tunnel and other highway options along the waterfront, dissolved itself this afternoon, saying there's not enough time to do its job right.

Legislative leaders and Gov. Christine Gregoire recently re-called their Expert Review Panel and gave it a deadline of Tuesday to answer several questions, including whether the public can trust the city government's cost estimate of $3.4 billion for a four-lane tunnel.

"We decided that time is too short for us to do anything meaningful," said panelist Don Forbes, a former Oregon transportation director.

City voters will soon cast advisory ballots on whether to replace the aging Alaskan Way Viaduct with a tunnel, or a cheaper elevated structure. Mayor Greg Nickels' staff contends that a four-lane tunnel would save $1.2 billion, compared to an earlier six-lane tunnel option.

Four of the eight panelists were briefed by the state Department of Transportation's project team this week, but Forbes said there was little or no new information since January, when the state halted its brief review of what some call "Tunnel Lite."

City ballots will be mailed out Feb. 21 to Feb. 23, without benefit of advice from the panel, which was appointed last summer by Gregoire and legislative committee leaders to study the Viaduct and Highway 520.