West Seattle Chamber invites you to hear ‘Why the Tunnel Works’

Still making your mind up about the Highway 99 tunnel? The West Seattle Chamber of Commerce invites you to an informal lunch panel discussion this Wednesday, 11:45 am at The Kenney, and today is the deadline to RSVP. Read on for the Chamber’s official announcement:

Keeping our sights set on the future, our January “brown bag” lunch will focus on “Why the Tunnel Works” and is your opportunity to come and listen to the facts from key stakeholders about the Alaskan Way Viaduct “bored tunnel” project.

John Creighton (Commissioner, Port of Seattle) and Dave Gerring (Director, Manufacturing Industrial Council) will provide us with facts about keeping our economy moving and why the Deep Bored Tunnel is both critical to the economic health of our region and the best choice.

Please join us for a very informal luncheon. It’s a “build your own” sandwich bar – so come early, enjoy some networking, and be prepared for a lively session!

Be sure to RSVP to reserve your spot. Guests and nonmembers are always welcome. We hope to see you there!
COST:
$25 admission, $20 for members with RSVP by January 24th.

When you call to make your reservation, you may pay in advance using a visa or mastercard if you wish to speed up your check in time on the day of the luncheon.

RSVP by calling the Chamber at 932-5685.

The Chamber has endorsed the tunnel, which the state has deemed its “preferred alternative.” An environmental review is currently under way.

notformethanks January 24, 2011 (1:49 pm)

So you want me to pay to be told I’m wrong? I could have stayed married for that. Bwaahhahha. But seriously. No thank you.

Blinkyjoe January 24, 2011 (2:54 pm)

25 bucks to hear them justify building a hugely expensive roadway that will carry as many cars as the ballard bridge, has no downtown exits, and most likely will be a toll road. Oh, and that Washington voters rejected building, what, three times? Mmmmmmmm…not so much…..

Sierra Hansen January 24, 2011 (2:54 pm)

The Seattle City Council is hosting a brown bag discussion the day before, Tuesday, January, 25 from noon – 1:30 PM to better understand issues raised by the Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS), including the traffic data presented in the SDEIS, the potential traffic impacts on downtown and surrounding neighborhoods, and how these impacts can be mitigated.

There is no charge for this event.

Mike January 24, 2011 (3:01 pm)

Oh good god, how many times do we have to vote to get the tunnel done and have it actually be done? This has been two decades in the works now… seriously, 2 decades. I was in Junior High when I first heard about the tunnel replacing the Viaduct. For crying out loud, it’s the only viable option, the longest lasting option, the only one that allows for advanced development along the waterfront to make it friendly to everyone that wishes to visit Seattle, does not look like a piece of crap and is more stable in an earthquake than ANY other option. 20 years ago this cost was a fraction of what any of the tunnel or other proposed options to a tunnel are now.
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get over it, get it done!

jwws January 24, 2011 (3:07 pm)

Just say Nooooo

WSB January 24, 2011 (3:12 pm)

The language above is directly from the WSCofC website. This is a special event inbetween their regular monthly lunch meetings (the last one was week before last, here’s our coverage:
https://westseattleblog.com/2011/01/west-seattle-chamber-of-commerce-new-year-new-chair
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and their next one is “Speed Networking” on Feb. 9, as per the Chamber website: http://wschamber.com – TR

foy boy January 24, 2011 (3:24 pm)

Cool take down the viaduct so we can see all the old ugly buildings behind it. Build a park and ride in westseattle. Retro fit the viaduct. All we need are the same problems as the big dig in boston. Ever noticed that our news paper never up dates the news from the big dig. there whole project is a major cost over run. And with the recent news on how dot handle the budget for Hwy 18 widing project, this tunnel is scarey.

Ken January 24, 2011 (5:52 pm)

This tunnel is the worst thing possible for the city and region as the whole, possibly even the state.
Tourism, parks, and ‘waterfront access’ take a back seat to transit of the people living in the city and the commerce they create.
Even more, in a time of budget crisis and public service cutbacks across the board, how dare we spend an amount equal to the state’s one year deficit on a huge engineering project who’s final utility has yet to be shown.

Everyone must read the Wikipedia entry for Big Dig.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Dig

Our tunnel projected cost: 3.1 billion
Big Dig went over its projected cost by over 19 billion.

Everyone in Seattle is on the hook for the overruns still.

Tear it down if you must, but please dont go digging a money pit in Elliot Bay.

old timer January 24, 2011 (6:40 pm)

I guess they will be preaching to their own choir.
It’s always a good idea to make a bad decision as a large group.
IMO, of course.
Let’s see how the money end of the project holds up.
Shoving $4 billion into a hole while social services and schools fall to the ax isn’t really defensible, I don’t care what the source of the funds is.

cj January 24, 2011 (8:24 pm)

Key stakeholders, that pretty much sums it up and pretty much suggest why after two vote downs on the tunnel over the years its still here.

I just wish it wasn’t so easy for these guys to spend our money in ways that we don’t like.

Blue Collar Enviro January 24, 2011 (9:33 pm)

Don’t worry. The Chamber has a plan to reduce traffic going into downtown: Line all the thoroughfares (especially the ones with high-frequency bus lines) with lots of on-street parking!

metrognome January 24, 2011 (11:40 pm)

its amazing how many people get the basic facts wrong. The viaduct tunnel project is nothing like the scope of Boston’s Big Dig. As far as cost overruns, the Metro bus tunnel, which is closer to the viaduct tunnel scope, came in pretty much on time and on budget in pretty much the same soil conditions.

The ‘people of Washington’ didn’t vote 3 times on the tunnel. There was an advisory vote submitted to Seattle voters in Nov ’07 on a preference for a replacement viaduct or a ‘cut and cover’ tunnel, not the current ‘deep bore’ tunnel. The advisory vote was inconclusive.
http://www2.seattle.gov/ethics/vg/20070313.asp

The C&C tunnel and the viaduct rebuild would both require removing the viaduct first, resulting in years of complete gridlock in downtown. The deep bore tunnel follows an alignment to the east, away from the liquefaction zone in the area that was filled, and can be mostly completed with the viaduct in place.

The cost of the tunnel portion is not $4 billion; it is much less than half that. The other work, such as the work going on now, is needed regardless of whether the viaduct is replaced with another viaduct or a tunnel.

redblack January 25, 2011 (6:31 am)

all that may be true, metrognome, but it doesn’t change the fact that the chamber is buttering people up so that we’ll carry water for the industries that will benefit most from the tunnel.
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imho, if the chamber and its big industry members want this tunnel done, they need to come up with a supplemental revenue stream; or maybe agree to pick up cost overruns without passing them on to commuters or homeowners?

Tony S January 25, 2011 (7:23 am)

I’m curious how many of the participants here lived in Boston during the Dig. I did, and the viaduct tunnel is not in the same realm of what was done in Boston. But I will tell you this — the vast majority of people polled today would tell you the 13 years of construction was worth it. They were able to re-shape their downtown core and their city from the unfathomable mistake in the 1950’s of putting the central artery right through the the most vibrant area of downtown. We have the same opportunity here at a fraction of the cost and inconvenience.

notunnel January 25, 2011 (11:20 am)

The tunnel is a joke. I’m sure all the building owners will love the earthquake retrofitting along the way on the taxpayers dime. Forget pretty, we need practical, and old 99 is that.

NotMe January 25, 2011 (6:05 pm)

I was also in Boston during the Big Dig. Our “little dig” is not even close to the same scope. People are getting their facts wrong the ‘voting’ pretty badly. Also, once that crumbling “temporary” viaduct comes down, guess what you have left? Parcels of land that are worth some money. The reason this works well for Seattle is because some of the money spent to do this comes back almost immediately after it’s finished. Also, the whole project includes fixing the sea wall.
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And last, why are people not getting the “no downtown exits?” Why would you want to block up traffic inside the tunnel?