Seattle tunnel foes gather signatures for last-ditch effort

Signature gatherers for anti-tunnel Initiative 101 are becoming more conspicuous, in their red shirts at grocery stores and farmers markets. Organizer Elizabeth Campbell says 5,000 people have signed.

What voters might not realize is that even if the measure attracts the required 20,629 valid signatures, it likely wouldn't appear on the Seattle ballot until May — months after the state Department of Transportation is to sign a construction deal in January for at least $1.1 billion, to build a four-lane Highway 99 tunnel from Sodo to South Lake Union. The City Council also intends to sign right-of-way agreements with DOT in January.

So is Initiative 101 too late to matter?

Campbell says no. Final engineering and tunnel-machine assembly will require several months before ground could be broken at the south tunnel entry, she argues.

Second, she hopes voters agree that "the longer the economy stays this way, the greater the reason is not to do the tunnel."

The full project is estimated at $2 billion, including design and contingency funds, while non-tunnel ramps, waterfront streets and a Sodo interchange push the figure to $3.1 billion, not including a half-billion in city dollars for utility relocations and a new sea wall. Campbell prefers an elevated replacement for the Alaskan Way Viaduct; some I-101 backers would prefer to reinforce the 57-year-old highway.

Tunnel backer Bob Donegan, president of Ivar's, said of Campbell: "If you look at her track record, she's not a very effective community organizer. As we ask around town, we're not seeing a lot of support."

Campbell has run for mayor and tried two other anti-tunnel petitions before. She now chairs Seattle Citizens Against the Tunnel.

SCAT has until Feb. 1 to gather signatures. Then, the City Council has 45 days to enact the measure or put I-101 to the voters, followed by several weeks' lead time for ballot printing.

If Campbell falters, Seattle tour-bus driver Dick Falkenbury, a former monorail campaign organizer, says he might try a "parallel" anti-tunnel petition drive. He's registered with city Ethics and Elections as "Committee of the Grownups."

If the anti-tunnel campaign were to succeed, a court challenge is virtually guaranteed.

The DOT could cite the Growth Management Act for its authority to build highways, said Bryce Brown, a state attorney working on the project.

Ivar's is treating the tunnel as a done deal — in a humorous ad that mentions you will someday buy clams at their deep eatery, inside the tunnel.

Mike Lindblom: 206-515-5631 or mlindblom@seattletimes.com