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Nine Questions About the Tunnel Project for the Seattle City Council

Friends of Seattle's picture

Before the City Council ratifies an agreement with the State about the tunnel project, the Council must have answers to these nine questions:

  1. Why did the state cap its contribution to the tunnel at $2.4 billion and make Seattle taxpayers responsible to pay for cost overruns?
  2. How can the City Council protect Seattle taxpayers from paying for cost overruns on the project?
  3. How can the city manage a state project to prevent cost overruns?
  4. Given the cap in state law, how would the state legally pay more than $2.4 billion for the project?
  5. Why has the state shifted risk on the performance bonds away from itself and the contractor and onto Seattle?
  6. What is the cause of cost overruns on other megaprojects? Is it as proponents claim due to delay? Are there other causes?
  7. What is the state doing differently here than on other megaprojects to prevent overruns?
  8. What will happen if the tunneling machine gets stuck underground? Who will pay? How will it be resolved?
  9. If Seattle has to pay for cost overruns, how would the city pay for them? What taxes would the City Council raise, or what programs would it cut?

UPDATE: We should point out that we saw these questions on an e-mail circulated by the mayor's office to the media. We agree it is essential that the Council have answers to these questions, and so we're asking them here.