Seattle mayor Mike McGinn vetoed the City Council’s agreements with the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) outlining their partnership on the Alaskan Way Viaduct bored tunnel, including support with utilities and right-of-way issues.
In a letter to the council dated 17 February, McGinn said he was protecting the city from “the unacceptable risks of this project” and “the likelihood of unaffordable cost overruns on the tunnel.”
The City Council had approved the measure 8-1 on 7 February, and prior to this vote the mayor announced his veto intentions.
Council president Richard Conlin released a same-day statement in response to the mayor, announcing efforts to override the veto. “Working with our regional partners including Gov. Gregoire, King County and the Port of Seattle, we are moving forward with this approved solution,” he said.
WSDOT crews started demolish work on the Viaduct the following day.
Earlier in the month, ‘Seattle Citizens Against the Tunnel,’ or SCAT, submitted a petition to stop tunnel construction. The group secured more than 27,000 signatures for its I-101 Stop the Tunnel initiative, which would put preventing the city from using right-of-way for building the tunnel to a public vote.
Only 20,629 signatures were needed to qualify, and SCAT had hoped I-101 would be on a May election ballot, but it will be unlikely the county’s election officials will have enough time to validate the all signatures. This could be problematic for the anti-tunnel group because the next election is in autumn, and groundbreaking for the tunnel is scheduled for August.
