tunnel

Can’t call the Highway 99 tunnel “world-record” anymore

A future four-lane Highway 99 tunnel under downtown Seattle can no longer be crowned the widest single-bore tube on earth. Russia has signed a deal for a 63-foot tunnel boring machine, according to an announcement by German supplier Herrenknecht. The Seattle machine, by Hitachi-Zosen of Japan, is to be 58 feet across when it launches from Sodo in 2013. Both Read More ›

Tunnel Returns To Debate Over Viaduct Options

This article, published by The Seattle Times, mentions Discovery Institute: That hasn’t stopped the Cascadia Center, a branch of the Discovery Institute think tank, from promoting a tunnel. The rest of the article can be found here.

Bored By All Those Viaduct Choices? Think Again

This article, published by The Puget Sound Business Journal, mentions Discovery Institute Fellow Bruce Agnew: Members of the dialogue include Bruce Agnew, director of the Cascadia Center; John Wilson, a principal at the Gallatin Group; and Gary Lawrence, a principal at Arup consultants. The rest of the article can be found here.

Tunnels suggested as I-5 fix

If you can't widen Interstate 5 through Seattle, or add another highway above it, why not dig down and put in an underground level or two? That's one of Discovery Institute President Bruce Chapman's 15 ideas for improving the flow of people and goods between British Columbia and Oregon. Chapman was looking long range - well into the next century -- during a talk yesterday at a luncheon for national and Pacific Northwest transportation officials as well as members of Congress at the Edgewater Hotel.....Among the suggestions: Extending Sound Transit's commuter rail lines to Olympia and Bellingham; Developing a "Cascadia inland (transportation) corridor" from central British Columbia through Eastern Washington and Eastern Oregon to California, taking the pressure off of I-5; Building a new I-5 bridge across the Columbia River; Replacing Seattle's "seismically challenged" Alaskan Way Viaduct with a tunnel. Chapman said later that the overpass is likely to come down in a strong earthquake. Budgets weren't discussed, but Chapman and his institute suggest tolls and a regional development bank to cover some of the costs. Read More ›