What ever happened to the 520 bridge?
Proposition 1 targets voter desires while asking us to ignore our crumbling infrastructure needs
Remember way back, when… I think it was last year… everyone was screaming about how the 520 bridge was just one big wave away from sinking to the bottom of Lake Washington? Remember the cries to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct before it comes tumbling down? If either one of these vital arteries were to fail, the Seattle area would be economically crippled and placed on life-support. Proposition 1 will solve our transportation needs, right? Wrong.
We are being taken for a ride by the Proposition 1.
Where are these crisis-level projects to be found in Proposition 1? What happened to the urgency of replacing State Route 520, the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge? Proposition 1 ignores our infrastructure needs and responsibilities in favor of fulfilling a desire for better transportation options in the future.
Spending money we don’t have while neglecting urgent needs was wrong in previous generations and it is still wrong today. Our politicians seem to have forgotten such wisdom.
Forgive my cynicism for a moment.
Might it be that we are supposed to forget about the urgent needs we have in transportation so that instead we can focus on satisfying a desire — adding new light rail to the Eastside?
We are presented with the largest tax increase in state history yet it will solve neither of our region’s most urgent needs: SR-520 and the Alaskan Way Viaduct. Does this seem rather odd to you?
At the polls we are asked by Mass Transit Now! to support Proposition 1., a $17.9 billion spending bill with nothing toward replacing the 520 bridge.
The outcome of the Gubernatorial race will have a big impact on these urgent issues as there was no political will to push for solutions before the election. Now we are left with Proposition 1, which seems to be the wrong measure dealing with the wrong transportation issues at the wrong time. The candidates’ campaign websites have details on Governor Gregoire’s and Dino Rossi’s transportation plans.
My guess is that the Prop. 1 folks did a clever political calculation and put light rail on the ballot now, before we deal with the urgent needs of our region.
In November 2007, voters rejected Sound Transit’s failed ballot measure 56 percent to 44 percent. This year, by cutting out the road improvements portion (including the 520 bridge) from the measure, Prop. 1 has gained the support of the Sierra Club. By putting it on the ballot during a presidential election year, they have calculated it has a better chance of passing.
By having a vote before the next governor is seated means that light rail (if passed) will get money before the 520 bridge and the viaduct can suck up all of our transportation funds.
The 520 bridge is a big ticket item, estimated at $3.7 billion – $3.9 billion. If Sound Transit had waited until after tax increases were levied for those essential projects, the public would have little appetite for their $17.9 billion plans.
A large part of the funding for the SR-520 bridge will be tolls. It is likely that tolls will be charged on both bridges to prevent drivers from taking I-90 and circumvent the toll booths. (The WSDOT provides an overview of how the tolls will be collected at http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/NR/rdonlyres/19BB6D86-382F-4C00-8F25-D79D48DBE7C0/0/2008_0512_TollingFINAL.pdf)
Replacing the 520 bridge is a higher priority than building light rail at this time. Given limited resources, it would seem prudent to prioritize our transportation desires and needs. We all know that we will be reminded of the urgency of replacing our existing infrastructure as soon as the election has passed. They just don’t want us to think about it until after we vote on Proposition 1.
We are all frustrated with our transportation woes. We need solutions to our problems. Adding $17.9 billion in new spending on light rail is not the answer.
We are not being well served when our leaders fail to recognize that we have limited resources. During these economically challenging times, we must prioritize our expenditures. Vital parts of our infrastructure are literally crumbling before our eyes. That is where we should spend our money first.
Light rail needs to wait until after we fix our urgent needs.
Posted by Rob Butcher on Sunday, November 2, 2008 at 8:00 am
Filed under Editorial · Tagged with Sound Transit, SR-520, Traffic, Transportation
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