KPLU Local News
(2009-11-17)
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Flickr photo by pgsvensk
There's a potential milestone in the decades-long search for a replacement for the SR-520 bridge over Lake Washington. But, a coalition of Seattle neighborhoods is vowing to torpedo it.
There's already agreement that a new SR-520 floating bridge will be six lanes wide (by adding an HOV lane in each direction). The question is: How will it get through the wetlands and neighborhoods on the Seattle side of the lake? A legislative task force of state representatives and senators voted 10-to-2 for a new highway interchange there, which includes a second drawbridge near Husky Stadium. Residents in neighborhoods such as Montlake and Madison Park use the word "despise" when they describe it.
"We are not going to allow this plan, as it's currently defined, to go forward. We will do everything in our power to stop it," says Jonathan Dubman of Montlake.
The so-called "Option-A-plus" was the cheapest option on the table. Dubman says it'll leave long lines of cars backed up on either side of the two drawbridges, along with delays for express buses trying to connect to a new light rail station. The neighborhoods prefer a tunnel option, passing under the Montlake cut.
But legislators say they're impatient to make a decision, as disputes over the bridge replacement have dragged on more than a decade. State Senator Ken Jacobsen (D, Seattle) says the message he got from federal agencies is that the underwater tunnel would cause unacceptable environmental impacts, particularly on migrating fish. "I don't think in the end you are going to get consensus around any decision," he says. With the tunnel, the tribes might have sued, so "we think this has strongest legal position."
The tunnel would also cost a billion dollars extra. Funding for any option remains uncertain. To shave costs further, lawmakers may risk adding fuel to the neighbors' fire. They're preparing to ask highway planners to cut back on some of the mitigation, such as lids over the freeway. The public can weigh-in next Tuesday, at an afternoon city council meeting and an evening public hearing.
To see images and learn more about the options and meetings, check out SR-520 Workgroup's website.
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