By: Travis Mayfield, Ryan Harris
KOMO-AM 1000
December 9, 2008
(This version aired during afternoon drive, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2009.) (partial .wav audio file).
ANCHOR: "A deep-bore tunnel may NOT be dead...Turns out there's growing support among stakeholders for that option and with good reason. KOMO's Travis Mayfield reports.
REPORTER: "New research has SURFACED."
BRUCE AGNEW, CASCADIA CENTER: "We have a letter from tunnel experts that have studied it, and they think the tunnel can be built for somewhere around $1.5 billion, instead of the figure that the consultant team used."
REPORTER: "Bruce Agnew with the Cascadia Center says a deep bore tunnel could be built while the current viaduct remained OPEN...the surface options and the rebuild options would both mean closure for at least 2 years. Thursday the 9 options under consideration are expected to be narrowed to 2 or 3, the governor should make a final decision by early next year. Travis Mayfield, KOMO 1000 News Radio."
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(The following segment ran during morning drive Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2008.) (.wav audio file of whole segment, minus intro.)
ANCHOR: (As a decision draws near on a final set of choices, there's a new, ninth option being proposed to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct in Seattle).
REPORTER: "Only this one combines existing options into a so-called "hybrid" of plans to build a lidded trench or deep bore tunnel while making improvements above it on the surface."
BRUCE AGNEW, CASCADIA CENTER: "It allows for a lot of open space on the waterfront, higher property values, and it has the thru traffic through Seattle, underground, which is where it belongs."
REPORTER: "Cascadia Center Director - Bruce Agnew - says it can be done without closing the Viaduct - making for a virtually seamless transition for commuters. And he says it's also a lot cheaper to build the tunnel...two BILLION dollars cheaper. But cheaper doesn't mean cheap - and one of the suggestions from "ninth option" supporters - are more tolls to pay for it. Ryan Harris, KOMO 1000 News Radio."
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(This segment ran at approx. 6;03 p.m., Monday, Dec. 8, 2008.) (Mp3 audio file of full segment).
ANCHOR: "For the past year a group of 25 citizens has been working on a Viaduct replacement, and well now as a decision nears, some in the group believe they are bein' played. KOMO’s Travis Mayfield joins us live to explain."
REPORTER: “Meetings being cancelled, announcements being made to the media before stakeholders know, and now Vlad Oustimovich tells me...:"
VLAD OUSTIMOVICH (Stakeholders Advisory Committee member): “Information is being massaged in such a way as to present a limited amount of data to us.”
REPORTER: “Many of the stakeholders believe politics have gotten tricky and now there’s a rush to have a decision from them before the state legislature convenes. By Thursday we should be able to narrow the option down to two or three, though it appears the Governor will not make a final decision until the end or middle of January. Reporting live in Seattle, Travis Mayfield, KOMO 1000 News Radio.”
ANCHOR: "Thank you, Travis. There is a last-minute push by some to reconsider the deep-bore tunnel option as a Viaduct replacement. A letter signed by a half dozen top tunnelling boring experts is urging the state, the county and the city to move that option to the top of the list. The experts and a new study by the Cascadia Center finds the state dramatically overestimated the cost of the deep bore tunnel."
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