Support for Seattle tunnel already caving in

OLYMPIA — Gov. Chris Gregoire's plan to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct with a tunnel is already running into trouble.

The coalition backing the $4.2 billion project appears fragile. And some legislative leaders doubt a key element of the proposal — allowing King County to pass a motor-vehicle excise tax to support increased public transit — will pass this session.

There are other hurdles as well, including House Speaker Frank Chopp and House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler, who question the wisdom of digging a tunnel. And it's not clear how the Legislature will respond to proposals to close a $400 million gap in state funding for the tunnel with tolls.

The project is tenuous, said Steve Mullin, president of the Washington Roundtable, an association of corporate executives backing the tunnel.

"I don't see this as a done deal at all," he said. "Getting consensus on anything related to the viaduct has proved incredibly difficult. If it wasn't, we'd have had resolution on this years ago."

The problems facing the project weren't dwelt on when Gregoire, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels and King County Executive Ron Sims held a news conference Jan. 13 to announce their support for drilling a nearly two-mile-long tunnel to replace the viaduct.

The three leaders expressed confidence it was the right choice for the region, and they are backed by a broad coalition of business and downtown interests.

"There was no time throughout this process where we thought we'd come to a solution with which everyone would agree," Gregoire said at the time. "We have come to one, however, in which the majority of folks, thankfully, do agree."

But within days, the Sierra Club Cascade Chapter sent out a letter opposing the tunnel because it fails to do enough to get drivers out of their cars to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.

"We are missing a great opportunity to invest in transportation solutions that will meet our future needs for both reduced carbon emissions and a resilient economy," Mike O'Brien, chairman of the Sierra Club chapter, said in the letter. "The cost of our shortsightedness today will be paid by the next generation."

The Sierra Club and other groups concerned about global warming want to replace the viaduct with a combination of surface streets, beefed-up transit and improvements to Interstate 5. They said they're open to additional research for digging a tunnel in the future — but not now.

The groups thought that was where political leaders were headed until Gregoire, Sims and Nickels announced the tunnel.

Part of the advocacy groups' concern is that the tunnel option, which would allow cars and freight to bypass downtown traffic, would encourage more people to drive. The surface route was expected to create longer trips and more of an incentive for people to use mass transit.

Tax a hot-button issue

What's apparently still keeping some of the advocacy groups onboard the tunnel plan is a proposal to let King County pass a 1 percent motor-vehicle excise tax, or $100 yearly on a $10,000 car.

"Our acceptance of the deal is completely dependent on the (excise tax) being part of the solution," Rob Johnson, executive director of the Transportation Choices Coalition, said in an e-mail. The group advocates for increased use of public transportation, in part, as a way to combat global warming.

The tax would raise an estimated $120 million a year.

The additional transit is needed in part because the tunnel, without ramps at Seneca Street and Western Avenue, wouldn't provide the same access to downtown as the viaduct.

Also, the tunnel and surface-street improvements essentially replace the traffic capacity of the existing viaduct, said Ron Paananen, deputy urban-corridors administrator for the state Department of Transportation. The additional transit would help accommodate future growth, he said.

King County wants the money to expand bus service up to 25 percent countywide. To a certain extent, it's also a bailout for Metro Transit, which is collecting less sales tax than officials predicted.

Under the proposal, the Metropolitan King County Council would be able to approve the tax increase without putting it before voters. But the Legislature would have to grant the county authority to do so — and that's the rub. Lawmakers are wary of any tax vote in the middle of a recession.

There's also concern that allowing King County to pass a car-tab tax without voter approval would prompt other cash-strapped counties in the state to ask for the same ability.

Voters already have approved two Tim Eyman initiatives in the past decade to roll back highly unpopular car-tab taxes. And Eyman recently proposed another ballot measure that requires local governments to keep car tabs at $25 with a $5 filing fee, unless they're approved by voters.

"I don't see the Legislature that interested in raising transportation taxes this year," said state Sen. Ed Murray, of Seattle, chairman of the Senate Democratic caucus.

Kessler, D-Hoquiam, the House majority leader, summed up the tax proposal this way: "Bad timing. Way too much."

Even some Metropolitan King County Council members seemed uncertain about passing a tax increase.

Reagan Dunn, R-Maple Valley, said a car-tax boost absolutely must go to the voters in a weak economy. "It's an incredibly sensitive situation right now," he said.

Larry Phillips, D-Magnolia, said the Legislature should at least give the county the option of putting a car-tab tax to a public vote.

"The big unknown"

The excise tax is not the only thing tunnel advocates have to worry about.

House leaders are particularly concerned about the fact the state is responsible for any cost overruns with the proposed 54-foot-wide tunnel.

Kessler said she met recently with Gregoire to discuss the project.

"I said, 'Governor, I don't think the taxpayers of this state want to be on the hook for unknown cost overruns. The Big Dig comes to mind in Boston,' " she said, referring to a tunnel project where costs exceeded $14 billion.

Kessler said the governor told her the state was only responsible for overruns related to the state's portion of the project. "And I said, 'Well, that's the tunnel. The big unknown.' "

On Friday, Gregoire wouldn't hazard a guess how the tunnel will fare in the Legislature.

"If they go through the same learning curve that I went through, I would hope they end up where I did," she said.

Andrew Garber: 360-236-8268 or agarber@seattetimes.com