governor chris gregoire

Deep Bored Tunnel Bill Is Signed Into Law – News Round-up

“This was not an easy process, but it’s done. It is done. It is done,” Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels said Tuesday afternoon at a signing ceremony for state legislation to replace the elevated highway with a deep-bored tunnel. “Today we end the era of the Viaduct.” Before signing the bill, Gov. Chris Gregoire addressed people who still questioned whether the state could build the Read More ›

SR 99 Deep Bored Tunnel Costs – Radio Transcript

(Excerpt) Dave Ross:.....Bruce, I think it's fair to say that the whole tunnel idea was dead until you guys resuscitated it. Bruce Agnew: Well, we did bring some international experts who'd had experience in building tunnels in Shanghai, Madrid, and North America and they told us that the tunnel would be around a billion dollars and I agree with the Governor. The DOT added a 27% contingency, and they're currently at $1.9B for the tunnel. So if you look at worldwide experience in tunneling and advances in technology, the Governor's figures are absolutely correct. The other important factor is that the DOT decided to go with a single bore versus a double bore, which means less labor, less materials and one machine versus two....(Additionally) Sound Transit's bids on the Beacon Hill transit tunnel came in about 22% below estimate and just, I think it was last week, San Francisco BART's bids on a tunnel came in at 45% below the engineering bids and there were five bidders. So there's a very hungry environment for contractors and the sooner we get this bored machine going, the better we're going to be. {......} Dave Ross: As you've mentioned, there have been deep-bored tunnels done before, in Beacon Hill, yes. But in Beacon Hill, that's mainly residential. There are no gigantic buildings you're going under for that tunnel. Has it ever been done? Has a tunnel this large ever been bored under a major urban area before? Bruce Agnew: Absolutely. Shanghai, Madrid, Paris. They're looking at a deep-bored tunnel for a Port of Miami and the I-710 freeway in Los Angeles.That's why I think the DOT and the project team came around on this is because they got the information about the 20 projects that are currently underway around the world and those that have been completed on time and on budget. The average costs of those was somewhere around 350 million dollars a mile so even if you take a look at the DOT's budget, which estimates it would be about 1.17 billion per tunnel-mile, there's a lot of fudge factor built into that. {...} Bruce Agnew:....the other point I would make to your listeners is that you've got to take a look at the history of our state DOT in the last five to ten years in terms of bringing projects in on time and on budget. You look at the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, the I-5 widening in Everett which were built under a new design-build procedure which brings in the talent of the private sector early on. Those are good examples, albeit they're highway projects, but they're good examples of the management of this DOT in terms of (completing within budget) these projects and that story isn't told enough, I think. Dave Ross: You are complimenting the DOT on bringing things in on...You're a conservative think tank, right? Bruce Agnew: Well yes, so we applaud government efficiency. And as someone who has a beach cabin up north in Snohomish County, I go through Everett all the time and it's just remarkable what that widening project has done in terms of traffic flow through Everett. It's great to see that. Full transcript Audio of full interview 12/08 - 4/09 Tunnel News & Opinion Read More ›

Stakeholders Took Initiative With Viaduct Tunnel Option

This article, published by The Seattle Times, mentions the Cascadia Center of Discovery Institute: At the same time, the Discovery Institute’s Cascadia Center, a think tank that studies transportation issues, also was pushing a deep-bore tunnel and brought in experts to talk to stakeholders The rest of the article can be found here.

Gregoire Delays Viaduct Verdict Again – Final Proposal To Be Made To Legislature In January

This article, published by Seattle PI, quotes Discovery Institute Fellow Bruce Agnew: Tunnel advocate Bruce Agnew, policy director, Cascadia Center of the Discovery Institute, said the delay could be good news. “I hear rumors that they want to take a closer look at tunneling figures,” he said. The rest of the article can be found here.

Viaduct Politicians Reach A Big Moment Of Truth

This article, published by Crosscut, mentions the Cascadia Center of Discovery Institute as well as Bruce Agnew and Bruce Chapman of Discovery Institute: This idea comes from Cascadia Institute, a transportation think tank headed by Bruce Agnew and nested in Discovery Institute, headed by Bruce Chapman. The rest of the article can be found here.  

Another Delay For Alaskan Way Viaduct Decision

This segment on the momentum for an inland deep bored tunnel to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct on Seattle’s downtown waterfront aired on the 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. news on KOMO 4 TV Seattle, the city’s ABC network affiliate. Among those interviewed are Cascadia Center’s Director Bruce Agnew, and Bob Donegan, CEO of Ivar’s, Inc. Click here to view Read More ›