Update: Council’s longer-than-expected briefing on tunnel/Viaduct, and the 2 words repeated over and over

(4:09 PM UPDATE: Archived video of the meeting now added above. The Viaduct discussion starts at 1 hour, 37 minutes in – you can drag the playback bar there)

1:02 PM: The City Council is already an hour and a half past the time it expected to conclude this morning’s “briefing” meeting. WSDOT has been on the hot seat since 11:15 am on the state of the tunnel-repair project and issues including a letter from SDOT in response to a report from WSDOT engineers around the time the repair pit’s status became an issue a month ago. Much discussion focused on the phrase “catastrophic failure” relating to the repair pit work – though it’s been reiterated over and over again that the Viaduct is safe, councilmembers want more assurance. Two more agencies are coming up now – SDOT and Seattle Public Utilities – so we’re putting the live window above, and will be adding the highlights of notes we’ve been taking (plus other coverage links) along the way.

1:29 PM: The meeting just adjourned. Here’s what’s transpired so far:

–Much discussion about the letter sent by SDOT to WSDOT and the engineering report that led to it. As far as we can tell, this was first reported by Sydney Brownstone of The Stranger. WSDOT opened its part of this morning’s meeting by sternly declaring that the city letter took the phrase “risk of catastrophic failure” out of context. This was repeated over and over again; the City Council, however, got stern right back – Councilmember Kshama Sawant, for example, noted that she formerly worked as an engineer, and engineers don’t use that phrase for no reason. Council President Tim Burgess asked WSDOT if it had the December 11th report handy, and when told, “yes,” stopped the meeting briefly so it could be given to a clerk who immediately made copies for the council. We’ve asked WSDOT for the document as well, and will add it here as soon as it comes in. (ADDED: Here it is; the “catastrophic failure” mention comes in the final paragraph. Note that WSDOT says this was a “draft” and has also sent a 12/19 “final” version [added]- here’s that one.)

Later in the meeting, WSDOT suggested that because of this “out of context” quoting, it might restrict city access to a system in which it keeps these reports, and several councilmembers voiced disbelief at that.

MORE AFTER THE JUMP

–Despite the use of that phrase, the Viaduct is not and was never at risk, WSDOT’s Viaduct/99 project leader Todd Trepanier opened. “At no time has there been a safety issue with construction of the access pit.”

–During a brief break in discussion of that situation, WSDOT’s Matt Preedy broke down the much-questioned number of the project being 70 percent complete. Yes, he said, tunnel digging itself is only 10 percent complete, but for example, the South Portal roadways – our side of downtown – are 82 percent complete, and that is 19 percent of the project. (Much math was required for a while during the briefing, including the rescue pit’s depth – they’re 98 feet down, but that’s also described at being a different number of feet below sea level. 98′ down is another “hold point” at which quality-control checks are being done. Still going for 120-foot depth. What if the tunnel machine can’t make it through the 20-foot concrete wall of the pit, when the time comes? There’s a plan for that too, WSDOT says.) Preedy said a “considerable amount of money” paid for advance procurement of tunnel components, many of which, he said, are being stored at Terminal 106.

–Assuming tunneling resumes, what happens when the Viaduct is closed while the machine goes beneath it? There’s no state money set aside for extra transit at that time, WSDOT said – and as for continuing other “mitigation” money for transit, that would have to be taken up with the Legislature (which just convened its new session today). Councilmember Rasmussen asked for elaboration on when the pass-beneath is expected. Still no clue on any dates for anything until the machine is back up and running, according to WSDOT. If and when tunneling does resume, there’s 500 feet to go – half again as far as it’s gone so far – before the machine starts going under the Viaduct.

-The proximity of the repair pit to the Viaduct remains a concern for Councilmember Mike O’Brien.

(still adding …)

-SDOT’s part of the briefing is detailed in the slide deck that was part of the agenda. It includes an independent assessment of the Viaduct that’s being funded by the city. (Seattle Times transportation reporter Mike Lindblom has more on that here.)

-Rasmussen asked Kubly what he would say to West Seattleites and others who use the Viaduct daily, regarding its safety. “Panic … is inappropriate,” the SDOT director replied. He went on to discuss the plans being made in case a longer-term or permanent closure is required, saying that while it sounds bureaucratic, it’s important that they’ve pre-positioned signage and pre-filled work orders. Capital improvements would take one to four months to build. A target list was worked on as recently as this past Saturday, with about half a dozen SDOT employees in a whiteboarding strategy session that afternoon (“before the game,” he noted).

-SPU said that it’s dealing with the settlement that’s potentially affecting water mains by creating an “isolation zone” in Pioneer Square, and reducing the amount of water flowing through it, but he insisted that is not affecting availability for key water uses such as firefighting, drinking, etc.

-The meeting wrapped up just before 1:30 pm – two hours longer than planned (though it should be noted, the SPD briefing on recent protest responses also ran overtime, about half an hour past what was scheduled). The council indicated it wants more frequent briefings on the Viaduct/tunnel/related-issues status.

41 Replies to "Update: Council's longer-than-expected briefing on tunnel/Viaduct, and the 2 words repeated over and over"

  • Mike January 12, 2015 (1:56 pm)

    Kshama Sawant was an engineer? Really… which one, Mechanical, Chemical, Civil or Electrical?

    • WSB January 12, 2015 (2:09 pm)

      Mike – Computer. http://www.seattle.gov/council/sawant/bio.htm
      .
      Diane – I hope the Seattle Channel is able to turn that video around relatively quickly. That was quite a discussion. Especially considering it followed an unrelated topic with even more fireworks (police handling of protests).

  • Diane January 12, 2015 (2:03 pm)

    this was way more fun to watch than any football game (and way more important); thank you to CM Sawant and CM O’Brien for coming out today fired up a bit more than last time, and making excellent comments, followed by good questions

  • Born on Alki 59 January 12, 2015 (2:33 pm)

    The term “risk of catastrophic failure” describes this whole project perfectly. Why does WSDOT think the City took it out of context? This could be the most expensive parking garage ever built.

    • WSB January 12, 2015 (2:35 pm)

      Stand by for the letter/report in question – just received it and adding to story, PDF link.

  • sophista-tiki January 12, 2015 (2:46 pm)

    not driving anywhere near something remotely related to the phrase “catastrophic failure” at any point of its existence. its most likely only a matter of time.

  • forgotmyname January 12, 2015 (3:10 pm)

    Well, tiki, you won’t do much driving on bridges, or roads…anywhere. It didn’t take tunneling to bring down the Skagit River bridge or I35 in Minneapolis. The ‘catastrophic failure’ clause covers pretty much every human built structure ever – there is always a risk, and reading the PDF, that’s what is being pointed out: Doing this the wrong way increases that risk. And that’s what worries me – Doing this wrong way has been the project MO from day one. And, I love Sawant – she is a great person and a true friend of the worker, but developing software hardly gives her authoritative insight in to how that phrase is commonly used in other engineering fields.

  • debra January 12, 2015 (3:12 pm)

    This has the potential of making the Boston big dig look like a nothing
    Wonder how many pot holes and decrease in class sizes, etc this could have paid for
    Fire the entire lot

  • dsa January 12, 2015 (3:24 pm)

    I thought the “catastrophic failure” they were talking about was what to do if the floor of the pit failed and needed to be suddenly plugged with earth or other.
    .
    My take is that it is now being projected way beyond that to something else since it was a poor choice of words.

  • AmandaKH January 12, 2015 (3:24 pm)

    That was the most exciting meeting I’ve been to yet! Wow. I am throughly disappointed by WSDOT’s continued efforts to direct blame to STP and their sub contractors without bring said parties to the table. The problem with words like “catastrophic failure” is that they are hard to “un-hear”. However, I am pleased to hear that SDOT is finally coming up with a mitigation plan for the very real No Tunnel / No Viaduct reality. Better to act, than react.

  • sc January 12, 2015 (3:25 pm)

    According to her info she was a “software” engineer in India.

  • Diane January 12, 2015 (3:29 pm)

    yes, it was amazing, and came as a surprise; so unfortunately, I did not record; agree, need that seattlechannel video asap; this will replay on ch21, likely late into the night; will record later if I can catch what time it comes on
    ~
    now city council presentation of Pike Place waterfront design; several friends at the table, led by West Seattle residing (Waterfront Director) Marshall Foster; much more pleasant conversation; happy Monday

  • Diane January 12, 2015 (3:40 pm)

    CM Sawant also made the excellent point to presenters at the table, of NOT bogging down/covering up their explanation with engineering terminology that almost no one understands (including city council members) and instead, she requested they explain what has happened and what they plan to do in terminology that the people of Seattle can understand

    • WSB January 12, 2015 (3:44 pm)

      That’s one of the points I tweeted, and I’m checking our twitter feed now for a couple of those to add to the one spot in the middle here where it says “more to come.”

  • Gina January 12, 2015 (3:50 pm)

    Uh, am I reading this right? That WSDOT won’t provide any more reports to the City Council if the reports are talked about? Isn’t that the point of the meeting?

    “WSDOT suggested that because of this “out of context” quoting, it might restrict city access to a system in which it keeps these reports.”

    • WSB January 12, 2015 (4:07 pm)

      Gina – to go into more detail on that, council asked how WSDOT was keeping SDOT in the loop. WSDOT said SDOT had access to the system where these various reports and letters – including the “catastrophic risk” draft – were available but because of this “out of context” they might have to restrict that access. That horrified several councilmembers – I believe CM Sawant used the word “brazen” – but WSDOT protested that they just wanted to make sure SDOT understood what it was looking at.
      .
      Meantime, the video of today’s meeting has JUST come up on the Seattle Channel website, so I’m adding it here. You can find it immediately by going directly to this page on the recently overhauled SC site: http://www.seattlechannel.org/CouncilBriefings

  • B-Check January 12, 2015 (4:08 pm)

    I was hoping the two words were going to be “bury it” or “do over” or “stop it” or “surface option” – but I am afraid now that this lunacy of a project is started, the powers that be will continue to push it forward despite all of the warning signs (similar previous projects, public outcry, and now actually construction issues)

  • Jw January 12, 2015 (4:20 pm)

    How is catastrophic failure taken out of context?!? Basically you have a 3rd party saying that the shaft walls themselves are severly messed up. If wsdot lets stp continue doing what their doing they run the risk of catastrophic failure of the shaft…. Why is wsdot protecting stp? Just to save face?

  • Art Critic January 12, 2015 (4:29 pm)

    I hope all the involved parties are upgrading their liability insurance. I know we recently added umbrella insurance. Lets hope it all turns out just fine. Unless an intern from WSDOT mistakenly sent out an email that used the term “catastrophic failure”, I am guessing an engineer of whatever job description would say what they mean, or not be viewed as professional. Some sort of fiduciary duty?

  • Two cents on two words January 12, 2015 (4:36 pm)

    I’ve studied accounting and law, and I work in healthcare, and I can tell you there is terminology used in all three of those fields that means something completely different than the lay-person would think it means, and this is the case with every technical profession. I strongly suspect way too much is being made of engineering lingo being used in an engineering report, and then being misinterpreted by those reading it who don’t have the background to fully understand it. Thus the “out of context” clarification that must made repeatedly.

  • Les January 12, 2015 (4:45 pm)

    Please end this boondoggle before my property taxes go sky high to pay for this unwanted project. A new viaduct would be the safer option much better than a two lane tunnel just look at what happened in D.C. today

  • west seattle codger January 12, 2015 (5:28 pm)

    Okay, I get that catastrophic failure is fairly unlikely but then to delete the term and threaten to cut SDOT off from access to information does seem excessive. I did like the comment about no reason to panic. So, how about fear and loathing?

  • chuck and sally's van man January 12, 2015 (6:50 pm)

    The two words most uttered by tax payers: incompetent leadership. See also: bad idea, political agenda, and bottomless pit.

  • joel January 12, 2015 (9:40 pm)

    those 2 words were eliminated in an attempt to CYA – something happens and oh look we have an engineer report which warned you of this…that lawsuit goes cha ching x 100. oh crap let’s get those words out of this report.

    so does SDOT still claim we are 70% complete…oh that is paid for i forgot. do we know if they are still cutting checks for this project?

    what is the scrap value of Bertha? if she’s got some copper in her let some meth heads go down that pit and strip Bertha clean.

    • WSB January 12, 2015 (9:50 pm)

      Joel – if you are really interested, WSDOT gave a long breakdown of the 70 percent during the briefing. And then the questioning got right back to the safety issues.

  • smokeycretin9 January 13, 2015 (5:44 am)

    I assumed the two words repeated would be “you’re screwed”

  • Mike January 13, 2015 (6:22 am)

    “Please end this boondoggle before my property taxes go sky high to pay for this unwanted project.”
    .
    You mean like the 2.8% / year you give the Port of Seattle to not be operating at Harbor Island right now?

  • Amy Thomson January 13, 2015 (7:32 am)

    Perhaps WSDOT would not have to restrict access to their reports if they were more clearly written….

  • joel January 13, 2015 (7:49 am)

    WSB….70% paid versus 70% complete….thanks for the info but I lost faith in them when they lied the first time.

  • Wrong January 13, 2015 (8:15 am)

    Mike: interesting comment. I’m looking at Harbor Island right now and it is fully operational. Ship being loaded, build, fueled. Please explain.

  • AmandaKH January 13, 2015 (11:16 am)

    TR – Do you have the Brierley letter from 12/19 in hand yet?

  • dsa January 13, 2015 (1:04 pm)

    Has the draft vanished?
    .
    I thought the failure they had talked about, and I am positive it came up in December’s council briefing too was the floor of the pit. I heard those two words sometime in December in conjunction with this project.
    .
    But I am not at all surprised it is leakage between the cylinder piles themselves. It bothered me when I first saw the hole since it is not round. How the heck can you get a compression ring if you don’t have a ring? And that is what the Dec 19 memo is saying.

    • WSB January 13, 2015 (1:12 pm)

      The draft is the one I originally linked, the 11th. The 19th was apparently the final version.

  • Mike January 13, 2015 (1:16 pm)

    Wrong, I just looked out my window at work and see exactly what I saw driving by Harbor Island last night… and empty platform without people working. Here, check out this article.

    http://www.cnbc.com/id/102334727#.

    • WSB January 13, 2015 (1:25 pm)

      If you’re talking about Terminal 5, it’s closed, and not because of the dock situation that’s been going on for a few months. Empty Terminal 5 (being discussed at Port Commission as I write, story to come) is closed for modernization, might reopen soon with interim use. The rest of the docks are working, but slower.

  • dsa January 13, 2015 (1:21 pm)

    Thanks, I wanted to see how the consultant couched the phrase. This will cause, could cause, might lead to a, etc. It’s probably in your movie, but I’m not up to watching more of the council right now.

  • dsa January 13, 2015 (1:57 pm)

    The consultant issued a warning and WSDOT took it, stopped excavating and did the necessary repairs and changed method of excavation to avoid a failure.
    .
    Here is the full consultant quote from the draft:
    “..If we continue the current repair as we go method of excavation, we significantly increase the risk of a catastrophic failure. Therefore excavation shall not proceed past elevation -74 until the action items listed above are completed and bla bla bla……”
    .
    The council only focuses on two words and has no capacity to understand anything else. That does not excuse WSDOT from pulling those words from the draft, they just caved in to them.

  • Bertha DeBlues (@BerthaDeBlues) January 13, 2015 (9:05 pm)

    But at least people are talking about me. A lot!!
    @BerthaDeBlues

  • Max Storbakken January 14, 2015 (2:57 pm)

    Before any of this new sinking, the Seattle Times reported portions of the viaduct have a 9-out-of-100 safety rating. For context, the Skagit bridge on I-5 that collapsed (May 2013) had a safety rating of 57.4 out of 100 and was brought down by a single large truck.

    I’d like to hear what Murray has to say about the viaduct. He’s extremely silent on the topic – is he out of the country or does he only talk about football these days?

    • WSB January 14, 2015 (3:07 pm)

      Well, so far today we’ve gotten news releases from the mayor’s office on homeless encampments and football.

Sorry, comment time is over.