Gov. Gregoire�s statement on Viaduct ruling

For Immediate Release: May 20, 2011

OLYMPIA � Gov. Chris Gregoire today issued the following statement on the ruling by Judge Laura Middaugh allowing Seattle voters to weigh in on the Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement project:

�We are reviewing the court�s order to refer one paragraph of the City of Seattle ordinance to Seattle voters. The court provided Seattle voters the opportunity to approve or reject Section 6 of the ordinance. This section describes the process through which the City would issue final approval of agreements that protect its interests while the State constructs the bored tunnel.

�As the judge said in today�s hearing, this will not be a vote on whether to build the tunnel. It will be a vote on process. We have had 10 years of public process and debate, reviewed more than 90 different options, three environmental documents and thousands of pages of technical analysis. More than $700 million has been spent on work to take down the south half of the viaduct, and conduct the environmental review and preliminary design of the proposed bored tunnel.

�The state Legislature directed WSDOT to move forward with the preferred tunnel alternative because it improves public safety, preserves capacity for the future, keeps traffic moving during construction and creates a great waterfront for Seattle. It is also the only option that removes the seismically vulnerable viaduct by 2016. Today�s decision by the court does not prevent WSDOT from issuing notice to the design-build team to proceed with final design and construction once environmental approval is secured this summer.�