Washington: Alaskan Way Viaduct

March 4, 2009 - 07:08 pm
NEWS FEED: News Tribune

$344 million highway construction bill on its way to governor

House Bill 1978 is the state supplemental transportation budget for 2007-09, but it contains an extra $344 million in federal stimulus money.

And of note to Pierce County, it also shifts some federal and state money around. The net effect is to put construction of the second half of the Nalley Valley Viaduct back on schedule.

Gov. Chris Gregoire had proposed delaying construction of the westbound Nalley Valley bridge until 2013-15. The rewritten budget puts that project back in the 2011-13 time frame.

Here is a link to our TNT home page, which has the story that AP reporter Curt Woodward wrote after the bill passed the House this morning.

February 4, 2009 - 09:45 am
NEWS FEED: News Tribune

Viaduct: Big Dig, Big Gamble for Gregoire, Nickels and Sims

Last Friday’s 4.5 magnitude earthquake was not-so-gentle reminder of just how much Gov. Chris Gregoire, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels and (soon to be former) King County Executive Ron Sims are gambling in their deliberations and recommendation for replacing the Alaskan Way Viaduct.

It was the imminent threat of earthquake that boosted the $4.24 billion viaduct project on Seattle’s downtown waterfront and, to a lesser extent, the $4.5 billion Highway 520 bridge project, to the top of the state’s priority list for money. Those two projects were the main reason the Legislature approved raising the gas tax by 9.5 cents a gallon in 2005.

Tue, 10/21/2008 - 00:36

Rossi goes after Gregoire in wake of Viaduct damage

Dino Rossi's campaign has seized on the news that part of the Alaskan Way Viaduct crashed to the ground today during a traffic accident, looking to tie the event to the lack of action in fixing the troubled roadway under Gov. Gregoire.

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Fri, 05/30/2008 - 12:33

GOP starts wisecrack war with Gregoire viaduct stance

In a recent article in the Seattle Times, state GOP chair Luke Esser forecasted sarcasm and humor in this year's political attacks.

"I think humor has the potential to be far more devastating to your opponent than the meanest thing you can say about them," Esser told the paper.

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