Look at the success the Club For Growth has had in driving Republican Moderates to the right with primary challenges.

I’m thinking we need something similar on the left so Democratic politicians will stop selling out on labor and environmental issues.

Sadly I think Sen. Gorton was the last politician in this state who had much in the way of a political machine.

Her reply to me indicates that she really does want to see the State hold the Federal Government hostage. She seems to ignore the Federal money that has already been committed and wants to wring more money out of the feds when they have already committed billions to the project.

I’m far more interested in bringing real mass transit to the Puget Sound and creating local jobs now, and not haggling interminably for months or years over some hypothetical value of I-90 HOV on ramps! Here is what Rep. Clibborn replied to me.

From: “Rep. Judy Clibborn”
Sent: Thursday, April 2, 2009
Subject: RE: I-90 Bridge and Light Rail

The R8A ramp will be built by 2014 and my budget includes $10 million this biennium for preliminary engineering that’s needed to meet the 2014 completion date. We also need to ascertain the value of the center lanes that Sound Transit will take over. This bridge was built with federal funds, and the federal government requires us to get a fair value for these lanes. Some have suggested the lanes are not worth any money, while others have suggested they’re worth $2.8 billion. It’s going to be somewhere in between, and I think the answer will be much closer to the lower end of the range. The study will give us the answer to this question. Once we know the value of the center lanes, we will be able to negotiate a final agreement to turn them over to Sound Transit to put light rail across the I-90 bridge.

Judy Clibborn

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“Once we know the value of the center lanes, we will be able to negotiate a final agreement to turn them over to Sound Transit”?!? Is she for real? Why are we wasting time, money, and giving away jobs to this narrow minded view?

The short answer is there still is no solid time line for building the 520 replacement. The funding for the project still isn’t in place and a final decision on how to handle the Montlake area hasn’t been made.

Trying to put rail on 520 at this point would almost certainly require a larger bridge which would cost more than using the I-90 center roadway.

There is also the problem of how to tie East Link into the rest of the Link system. Connecting into the tunnels for U link would be both difficult and expensive.

Finally a 520 alignment makes it very difficult to serve Downtown Bellevue which is roughly 1/3 of East Link ridership.

The real obstacle is a State law passed last session. E2SHB 1773 (originally sponsored by Representatives Clibborn and Jarrett) says in part:

All revenue from an eligible toll facility must be used only to improve, preserve, maintain, manage, or operate the eligible toll facility on or in which the revenue is collected. Toll revenues may be spent only to: cover operating costs, including maintenance, preservation, administration, and toll enforcement by public law enforcement; meet obligations for the payment of debt; meet any other funding obligations for projects or operations on the eligible toll facility; provide for the operation of conveyances of people or goods; and fund improvements to the eligible toll facility.