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McGinn: "City rushing to assume unprecedented financial risk"

Friends of Seattle's picture

Mike McGinn, in response to the City Council's proposed ordinance formally adopting the tunnel and committing Seattle financial resources to the project, issued the following statement:

SEATTLE -- Mayoral candidate Mike McGinn today urged the Seattle City Council to change cost overrun provisions before committing to the tunnel mega-project.

This morning, the City Council started expedited consideration of a memorandum of agreement  to try and lock in the deep-bore tunnel plan before November's general election.

"State law puts Seattle property owners on the hook for 100% of tunnel cost overruns," said McGinn. "These overruns could easily run into the hundreds of millions or billions of dollars."

"The cost overrun law makes the tunnel the biggest financial risk the City has ever taken," said McGinn. "If there are major overruns, Seattle taxpayers could be financially drained for years, if not decades."

"Seattle is the only city in Washington state that has ever been held responsible for cost overruns on a state highway project," said McGinn. "It's ridiculous for the state to say that Seattle taxpayers should have to pay all of the cost overruns even though Seattle has virtually no say over the project.  It's even worse that the City Council is going along with it."

"The State has made it clear that they will pay no more than $2.8 billion," said McGinn. "Seattle and King County taxpayers are already on the hook for an additional $1.4 billion and that could rise dramatically if there are cost overruns."

"At the same time we're dealing with massive service cuts caused by large city, county and state deficits, we're rushing to build the most expensive viaduct alternative put forward," said McGinn.  "We can barely afford a Saturn and we're trying to buy a Cadillac...without even knowing what it will actually cost."

"And for those who promise there will be no cost overruns or delays, I'd suggest they check out Brightwater," said McGinn. "That tunneling project is already six months and a billion dollars over budget, with broken-down tunneling machines submerged in water deep underground."