State Rep: Make city or contractor pay for more buses during Seattle tunnel project

A state representative is trying to keep a budget proposal linked to the Seattle Tunnel Project from impacting taxpayers outside of the city.

An additional $17 million in transit mitigation funding passed through a committee Monday. The funding would be used to keep buses moving through the construction zone for the Alaskan Way Viaduct tunnel project.

State taxpayers should not have to foot the bill; the city or tunnel contractor needs to pay, Rep. Ed Orcutt told KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson. A $2.8 billion limit in state and federal funding was placed on the project, and although the mitigation funding isn’t in the budget, it is directly related.

“What concerns me is this isn’t even in the project’s [budget],” Orcutt said.

The proposed mitigation funding is a work-around, Orcutt said.

The $3.1 billion project has been plagued by delays since Bertha, the tunnel boring machine, broke down in late 2013.

Since 2010, state aid has enabled King County Metro Transit to add 150 runs per weekday in the area. Authorities say the state has so far forwarded $36.5 million toward extra Seattle buses.

But how do you stop lawmakers from allowing taxpayers outside of Seattle from paying for something related to the tunnel project, Dori asked.

“Offer an amendment to take the $17 million out [of the budget],” Orcutt responded.

The city of Seattle is already receiving a “significant” amount of sales tax money, he added.

To date, almost $37 million has been spent on mitigation around the tunnel.

Because the project is in Seattle, should those living in the city have to pay for any extra mitigation spending? It would be a lot of money for just city residents to take care of, Dori noted.

“It is,” Orcutt said. However, the agreement for the project limits state and federal funding to $2.8 billion, he repeated.