The Senate is now working on the bill to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct with a deep-bore tunnel.

Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen said she urged the Senate to concur with the House amendments, although she said the House was “cruel” to the City of Seattle. She was referring to an amendment by the House that would require Seattle businesses to pay for cost overruns.

They voted to concur after Sen. Dan Swecker said a few words about his support, then passed the bill.

Tags: Viaduct

The House voted last night to replace the failing Alaskan Way Viaduct with a deep-bore tunnel – that’s the deal Gov. Chris Gregoire inked earlier this session.

The plan, as Joe Turner notes, has changed a bit, though: The House put in a clause that says the state will not be responsible for any cost overruns.

Gov. Chris Gregoire sent out a release last night congratulating the House for passing the bill.

“This viaduct replacement legislation accomplishes one of two important go-home transportation issues. I now encourage the Senate and House to pass the bond legislation needed to ensure funding to replace the aging state Route 520 bridge. Building a deep bored tunnel and upgrading SR 520 will support a strong economy today and in the future.”

Also last night: The Senate twice debated a bill to regulate payday lenders. The bill creates a minimum loan term — more than 7 days, up to the next paycheck date — allows borrowers to go on payment plans if they can’t repay the loan in full and prohibits lenders from loaning more than 30 percent of a borrowers’ monthly pay.

I’ll post a bit more about it later.

Tags: payday lending, Viaduct

That’s a quote from Sen. Dan Swecker, who said the Viaduct Bill — SSB 5768 — is just a way of reconfirming what the Legislature has already agreed to.

Sen. Curtis King also supports it: “It’s nice to know that all these agencies can come together,” he said.

“I know there’s a lot of concern to some people about additional costs,” said Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen. But, she said, that shouldn’t be a worry — the deep bore tunnel will include tolls, she said, and if the $2.4 billion of state money isn’t all used, it will be returned.

Sen. James Hargrove, however, is opposed. He said automobile transportation isn’t the thing to invest in. “I think we need to have a major paradigm shift in how we deal with transportation and spending money on infrastructure and we need to start managing our growth and … stop investing in” old technology.

The bill passed 43-6.

Tags: Viaduct

I wrote yesterday about an exchange between Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen and the panel explaining the deep-bore Viaduct-replacement tunnel. In short: She disputed the Legislature’s funding commitment and said tolling would have to make up the cost difference.

Today, Jen Huntley reminded me that on last week’s The Impact, she interviewed transportation leaders. And they talked about tolls. Here’s the clip:

Tags: Budget, transportation, tunnel, Viaduct

Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, chairwoman of the SEnate Transportation Committee, (which you can watch live on TVW now) just addressed a burning Viaduct-replacement question: How much did the state promise?

Governor Chris Gregoire unveiled a program earlier this month that included $2.8 billion from the state. The problem: The Legislature says they only promised $2.4 billion.

During the committee hearing, Huagen heard reference to the $2.8 billion and said that, for the record, it was $2.4 billion. “The rest will have to come from tolling.”

Tags: Budget, Viaduct

Here’s a video, courtesy of WSDOT, The City of Seattle and King County. It demonstrates what the deep bore tunnel will look like.

Warning: For those of you who tend to get motion sickness, have a bag ready. Enjoy!

Tags: Viaduct

Here’s a sample of the statements we’ve received today from state lawmakers about Gov. Chris Gregoire’s deep-bore tunnel viaduct replacement plan.

(I’m posting after the jump so you can read in full. Enjoy!)
(more…)

Tags: Viaduct

Watch here:

Or here.

Tags: Governor, TVW, Viaduct

I just got a sneak peak of the press conference this morning in Seattle where Gov. Chris Gregoire announced a plan for a “deep bore” tunnel to replace the Viaduct.

Some points:

- She said the “city, county, port and state have all stepped up in a very big way to make this happen.”

- The deep bore idea is the result of 21 meetings and briefings over 13 months.

- The tunnel option will “keep Seattle and the region moving during constructions,” whereas some of the other options would have severely restricted travel in the area, leading to business closures.

- The construction will “create a huge number of jobs.”

- “In order for us to stay on schedule, we must move forward now,” she said. That means the Legislature needs to approve the plan, which is not a given.

Tags: Governor, Viaduct

- The Alaskan Way Viaduct: Governor Gregoire announced this morning that she — and a coalition of local lawmakers — are recommending that a deep-bore tunnel will replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct. Cost: $4.24 billion. The Legislature will have to approve the option.

- These hearings.

- The Senate will unroll a “middle class jobs package” today at 12:45.

- All this and more. Look for a Viaduct update soon. (And watch TVW at 7 p.m. for the full press conference.)

Tags: Alaskan Way, Governor, Viaduct