March 23, 2006

Futzing with the Viaduct
Officials hitch replacement debate to urgent safety issue

By JESSICA KNAPP
Contributing Writer

Maybe Seattle needs its own nursery rhyme. We could start with the melody and lyrics for “London Bridge Is Falling Down,” and just substitute in the Viaduct.

It certainly would be nice if decisions related to the safety of the structure were that elementary. But the safety and future replacement of the Alaskan Way Viaduct have become immensely complicated.

Talking to most civic and state leaders about the safety of the roadway and directions for its future, you would think the two decisions were intimately linked. This past weekend, the Washington Sate Department of Transportation (WSDOT) held a public tour of the Viaduct to show Seattleites the state of the structure firsthand. But the tour was as much a pro-tunnel rally — the preferred direction of Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels — as it was an informative look at the health of the Viaduct.

WSDOT is currently mired in an exaggerated planning phase. The tour highlighted the absurdity of their situation: trying to ready themselves to build something when they don’t even know what it will be. And frustration seems to be setting in. “Time is becoming critical,” says Ron Paananen of WSDOT.

The Nisqually Earthquake struck over five years ago. Since that time, there has been a heightened sense of urgency about getting drivers off of the current Viaduct. City workers evaluate the structure on a quarterly basis and have consistently found the roadway safe enough for drivers. But the damage, as seen on the tour, is unmistakable.

Sections of the roadway visibly dip down below the main structure due to settlement. Other portions are experiencing broken connections on the columns that hold them up. In these instances, the columns are buttressed with temporary supports. One section has full-depth cracks: that means the cracks go through the depth of the structure and can be seen on both the top and bottom of the deck. According to WSDOT safety expert Tom Madden, the structure was built sub-standard in many ways. There was not enough concrete poured to cover the rebar — and now the rebar is exposed in many places where the road has worn down.

Concerns like these were enough to drive State Representative Mary Lou Dickerson into action. Dickerson initiated legislation that eventually led to a funding deadline of Jan. 1, 2007, for any new construction. “My colleagues and I were very concerned that we move forward with a replacement for the Viaduct,” Dickerson says.

Many — including City Councilmember Peter Steinbrueck — have questioned the right of Olympia legislators to weigh in on Seattle’s road decisions. To criticisms like that, Mary Lou Dickerson firmly says, “I am a Seattle legislator.” Dickerson represents the 36th District, which stretches through Fremont, Ballard, and part of North Seattle.

Steinbrueck has recently expressed criticisms of both highway options. In a recent e-mail to constituents, he wrote: “I find neither to be acceptable options. We cannot let the central waterfront be totally devastated by a monstrous aerial replacement structure…. This would be repeating the mistake of the past with something worse than we have today. And the tunnel option is not a feasible option, since it is underfunded by as much as one billion dollars…. More importantly, both these options wrongly put auto capacity over mobility.”

Steinbrueck continues by laying out his support for the surface street option: “The viaduct is a dangerous and obsolete eyesore. We should not wait any longer to tear the viaduct down and replace it with a beautifully designed surface alternative coupled with reliable high-capacity transit through the corridor.”

For all parties involved, the safety of the structure for public use seems to be tied to the future life of the roadway. Ideally, the decision of whether to close the structure as a safety hazard would be separate from the rebuild path. Cary Moon of The People’s Waterfront Coalition says of the Mayor’s office, “They’re holding that decision hostage.”

If all of the political wrangling continues into the foreseeable future, one has to wonder at what point the safety of the Viaduct will become its own, distinct issue. n