Today Michael announced his opposition to the Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement plan emerging in the Legislature. “This deal keeps getting worse,” said Michael. “As Mayor, I will not authorize the use of city tax dollars for the tunnel or associated cost overruns.”

The Washington State Legislature is poised to pass legislation to force all tunnel cost overruns onto Seattle taxpayers. This is in addition to the $900 million in city revenues that Mayor Greg Nickels has already pledged to the $4.2 billion project.

A bored tunnel of this size (54 feet in diameter) has never been built anywhere in the world. Most tunnel projects experience cost overruns, even when using conventional engineering techniques. Boston’s Big Dig had cost overruns of $10.6 billion. A cost overrun here of that size would cost Seattle residents approximately $35,000 per household under the new legislation.

“We are committing $900 million we don’t have - plus who knows how much more - while our essential services are being cut, libraries are closed, schools are in trouble, and our local transit is facing 20% cuts in service,” said McGinn.

Earlier in the session Gregoire and the Legislature backed away from their commitment to provide new transit revenue. Additional transit funding was a key element of the deal touted by Nickels when he committed Seattle to the most expensive and least vetted viaduct replacement option.

Seattle Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis said the city won’t oppose the bill. “I’m not going to put a happy face on it, but I’m also not going to jeopardize the project over what I see as a fairly petty gesture, a negative gesture, towards the city of Seattle,” Ceis said earlier this week.

Responds McGinn: “This is more than a “petty gesture” on the part of the Legislature. It holds Seattle taxpayers accountable for potentially hundreds of millions, potentially even billions of dollars. The Mayor is risking the city’s financial health for decades to come.”

“It’s one thing for Nickels and the State to force a tunnel on us after Seattle voted 70% against it. It’s another to force Seattle taxpayers to pay 900 million dollars, and now all cost overruns. We have better uses for Seattle tax dollars than a tunnel that will make global warming worse, and do nothing for transit service or traffic congestion.”

“Its time to get out of this bad deal.”