I saw an interesting story this past weekend on King 5’s “Up Front” with Robert Mak on replacing the $4 Billion Alaska Way Viaduct in Seattle. Here’s how the Seattle insiders say they will pay for it;

Nick Licata, Seattle Councilman, says “Seattle taxpayers cannot bare the burden. We need the State to come in and help.”

Greg Nickels, Seattle Mayor says, “The State has the responsibility to keep their facilities operating. They need to put in the amount of money necessary to replace what’s there now.” “We expect, and we demand, that the State of Washington, the Legislature specifically, provide the dollars to fix the system that they let deteriorate.”

Nickels is asking the federal government for $1 Billion toward the Viaduct.

Senator Horn says, “If we do anything at the State we have to tax uniformly across the State.” Doesn’t “uniformly” mean they should also pay tolls for 100 percent of their project as the Narrows Bridge users were forced to do?

Representative Ed Murray from Seattle says, “The Regional Transportation District (RTID) the State and the Feds should all pay one third.” That’s local, state, and federal gas tax being paid by the users of the Tacoma Narrows bridge.

Ted Van Dyk with the Seattle Newspaper the PI says, “Split the cost 50 percent, 50 percent between the State and City of Seattle.

Not once during this show did anyone mention the dreaded “T” word — Tolls. Am I stupid or did I hear that all future projects were going to be paid for with tolls just like the Tacoma Narrows Bridge? Wasn’t the Tacoma Narrows Bridge the guinea pig project to set the example for theses future mega projects to come?

Well, if “they” are not going to use tolls for the Viaduct then the Tacoma Narrows should also be paid for without tolls.

Randy Boss
Gig Harbor