Initiative 912 threatens SR 520
The Seattle Times has a good article this morning about the future of State Route 520, possibly the most heavily used state route in Washington.
This Wikipedia article does a good job of describing the highway:
Built in 1963, the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge turned forty two years ago. It's an aging span, and it's handled more traffic then it was ever built to carry in its lifetime. It's a 1960s-era bridge. And it needs to be replaced.
The Seattle Times:
Its backers have made dozens of various outlandish claims - from insisting the package doesn't actually accomplish anything (a lie to be sure, if there ever was one) to grumbling that the money's all "going to Seattle" for the floating bridge and the Alaskan Way Viaduct, also in need of replacement.
Some backers seem to truly believe this nonsense. Others seem to be involved enough in politics to understand what they're claiming, but they're choosing not to speak realistically and truthfully.
The gas tax increase is all about saftey. It's an investment, yes. A very sound investment. It's an investment that benefits everyone - from individuals to businesses. It means a better transportation infrastucture. It means jobs.
Underscoring the point I just made about safety, here's another excerpt from the Times article:
Rep. Fred Jarrett, R-Mercer Island, explains just a few of the consequences of passing Initiative 912:
The initiative's backers in the eastern half of the state seem to conveniently overlook the state that the western half of the state is the gateway to the rest of the world. Did they ever notice that the western half of Washington includes the Ports of Seattle, Tacoma, and Vancouver?
Like it or not, Eastern Washington needs the west. The angry, "screw you" attitude needs to change. You can't get very far for very long being self-centered and refusing to share in the task of infrastructure improvements.
115,000 vehicles cross State Route 520 each day - and the number crossing Interstate 90 is similar. I-90 and SR 520 are crucial spans leading directly out of Seattle.
I-90, in particular, is the main transportation artery into the East, but trucks coming from the Port of Seattle and warehouses around Puget Sound use both SR 520 and I-90. It's in the best interest of Eastern Washington to have a functioning floating bridge on SR-520.
Despite I-912, the state is moving forward with its plans for replacing SR 520. And we applaud that move. It's unwise to surrender to the cynics and skeptics.
Washington voters - no matter where they live - should realize that Initiative 912 is a bad move. We need to shift into drive - not into reverse.
This Wikipedia article does a good job of describing the highway:
Washington State Route 520 is a freeway in the state of Washington, U.S.A. It extends 14 miles from Seattle in the west to Redmond in the east.Notice the bolded part - about the floating bridge.
Originating at Interstate 5 in Seattle at the north end of Capitol Hill, it crosses Portage Bay on a viaduct, runs through the Montlake neighborhood, and from there runs on a causeway through the marshlands of Washington Park. It crosses Lake Washington on the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge (1963) - at 7,578 feet, the longest floating bridge in the world - to Medina.
From there, it separates Hunts Point and Yarrow Point to the north from Clyde Hill to the south. Intersecting with Interstate 405 in Bellevue, it then runs through Redmond, bisects the Microsoft campus, crosses the Sammamish River and Bear Creek, and ends at Avondale Road N.E.
Built in 1963, the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge turned forty two years ago. It's an aging span, and it's handled more traffic then it was ever built to carry in its lifetime. It's a 1960s-era bridge. And it needs to be replaced.
The Seattle Times:
The state is designing a replacement span for the aging Evergreen Point Floating Bridge sound enough to endure wind and waves of a fury rarely experienced across Lake Washington.Initiative 912 is all about going backwards. It's regressivity and cynicism at its finest.
But the political winds that regularly buffet the state have some project supporters worried that $500 million of funding for a new, safer span could be in jeopardy.
Word that the November ballot likely will include an initiative to overturn the state's brand-new gas-tax increase — which is expected to raise $8.5 billion for state transportation projects — came the day before area lawmakers and transportation officials toured the closed 520 bridge yesterday.
Its backers have made dozens of various outlandish claims - from insisting the package doesn't actually accomplish anything (a lie to be sure, if there ever was one) to grumbling that the money's all "going to Seattle" for the floating bridge and the Alaskan Way Viaduct, also in need of replacement.
Some backers seem to truly believe this nonsense. Others seem to be involved enough in politics to understand what they're claiming, but they're choosing not to speak realistically and truthfully.
The gas tax increase is all about saftey. It's an investment, yes. A very sound investment. It's an investment that benefits everyone - from individuals to businesses. It means a better transportation infrastucture. It means jobs.
Underscoring the point I just made about safety, here's another excerpt from the Times article:
For years, the state has warned that the viaduct and the western end of the 520 bridge are vulnerable to earthquakes. Engineers also note the 520 span was designed to withstand sustained winds of only 57 mph and could sink in a major storm. The state has clocked sustained winds of more than 70 mph across the lake, said Patrick Clarke, Department of Transportation floating-bridge and special-structures-design manager.Winds of 70 MPH have been clocked on Lake Washington - a huge threat to a bridge designed only to sustain winds of 57 MPH. That's a scary scenario. And it's not just wind, either. Earthquakes also pose a major problem for the bridge. Safety is indeed a huge issue - and a concern that grows larger with the passage of time.
Rep. Fred Jarrett, R-Mercer Island, explains just a few of the consequences of passing Initiative 912:
Jarrett said the debate will come down to whether voters want to pay for transportation projects on a statewide basis or regionally.What Jarrett didn't mention was that Eastern Washington itself will also get shafted by the passage of I-912.
Repealing the tax, he said, would stall projects throughout Washington, including improvements along Interstate 90 that would reduce closures of the major east-west corridor during avalanche season. It also would force Puget Sound taxpayers to shoulder the costs of replacing 520 and the viaduct and widening I-405, rather than receiving help from around the state.
The initiative's backers in the eastern half of the state seem to conveniently overlook the state that the western half of the state is the gateway to the rest of the world. Did they ever notice that the western half of Washington includes the Ports of Seattle, Tacoma, and Vancouver?
Like it or not, Eastern Washington needs the west. The angry, "screw you" attitude needs to change. You can't get very far for very long being self-centered and refusing to share in the task of infrastructure improvements.
115,000 vehicles cross State Route 520 each day - and the number crossing Interstate 90 is similar. I-90 and SR 520 are crucial spans leading directly out of Seattle.
I-90, in particular, is the main transportation artery into the East, but trucks coming from the Port of Seattle and warehouses around Puget Sound use both SR 520 and I-90. It's in the best interest of Eastern Washington to have a functioning floating bridge on SR-520.
Despite I-912, the state is moving forward with its plans for replacing SR 520. And we applaud that move. It's unwise to surrender to the cynics and skeptics.
Washington voters - no matter where they live - should realize that Initiative 912 is a bad move. We need to shift into drive - not into reverse.
