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The liberal solution here would have been a no-build or boulevard option... and then you'd be screeching "Agenda 21."
Actually that option was the favorite of the socialists, and we have a lot of them here, including self proclaimed "Marxist" councilwoman Kshant. The tunnel was the liberal option, I think primarily because of a lot of lib-connected developers are going to make a killing on the opened up waterfront (currently the viaduct kind of leaves us with not much of a waterfront).
The conservative solution? There are no conservatives. The two major parties are Dem and Socialist.
This is a major undertaking, though it will streamline 99 when it is completed. Interestingly enough, there hasn't been any major issues with the light rail tunneling.
This is a major undertaking, though it will streamline 99 when it is completed. Interestingly enough, there hasn't been any major issues with the light rail tunneling.
You mean if it is completed. There were some pretty serious calls to scrap the project after it got stuck in Dec, 2013, but they were overruled by Sen Curtis King (R, Yakima) who is transportation chair.
If the machine gets stuck again, soon after it restarts supposedly in August, those calls will return. If everything goes perfectly drilling could be done around mid 2016. If the previous pace of approx. 2000 feet/yr is matched, drilling will not be done until about 2019.
We have scrapped big projects like this before. The Seattle Monorail project collected and spent about $200 million in taxes before the project was deemed unworkable and scrapped. Under Ron Sims, the county spent $40 million on a new county payroll software system before the whole thing was scrapped.
One of the side effects of Boston's Big Dig was to keep the economy of Eastern Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire alive during a recession or two. In may cases the cost of a project of this magnitude is the primary benefit. In addition downtown Boston is a much neater and nicer place without the former Green Monster elevated highway.
IMHO - Public spending on massive or many small civil infrastructure project is preferable to wasting resources defending private investment in the Middle East. The petroleum investors took a chance that their investment may be nationalized by the locals. After making tremendous amounts of money the locals threated to take the goodies for themselves. the investors lose. too bad. that is what risk means. In no way is our government obligated to bail these people out of their own mistake.
I believe in government spending on projects in our own country. I do not believe in our overseas military backed commercial empire. That is a complete waste of our money and our soldiers lives.
What does Boston and Seattle have in common? Both are dem run cities in dem controlled states.
the best well kept secret is the cosmicly exponential underestimated costs for any infrastructure project the dems undertake and the infinite tolerance by the local media and taxpayers with no retribution directed toward the offending officials whose dead pets must have provided original cost estimates.
The dem panacea for all ills is light rail or hi speed rail to nowhere based on estimated costs that had to come from the janitor rather than a professional planner.
Chris Christie ended such a project between NJ and NY for cost overruns that were underestimated to make the original underestimated cost and subsequesnt unerestimated cost overruns look tame.
As I understand it, they didn't bother to find out what kind of junk they were to dig through.
That area is, quite literally, JUNK!!
Everything the early Seattle residents did not want got thrown into the bay. then dirt was spread over it to hide it and develop the waterfront.
Nobody really knows what is down there.
I heard they even found an old locomotive!
Is that true?
Are we talking about the same group of engineers that decided it was OK to choke the freeway down to 2 lanes in each direction downtown?
IMO, they should have rebuilt and updated the Alaskan Way Viaduct. that has been a fixture of Downtown Seattle since before I was a teenager. I liked driving on that thing, back when U.S. 99 was the major North/South highway on the coast.
You mean if it is completed. There were some pretty serious calls to scrap the project after it got stuck in Dec, 2013, but they were overruled by Sen Curtis King (R, Yakima) who is transportation chair.
If the machine gets stuck again, soon after it restarts supposedly in August, those calls will return. If everything goes perfectly drilling could be done around mid 2016. If the previous pace of approx. 2000 feet/yr is matched, drilling will not be done until about 2019.
We have scrapped big projects like this before. The Seattle Monorail project collected and spent about $200 million in taxes before the project was deemed unworkable and scrapped. Under Ron Sims, the county spent $40 million on a new county payroll software system before the whole thing was scrapped.
I think the next project should be a bridge to the moon. Seriously, why spend all that money on space shuttles, or whatever they will be called in the future, when a bridge solves everything?
Not a bridge but a carbon fiber Beanstalk elevator.
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