Big Dig Without Borders

Bostonist spent a long weekend with our friends at Seattlest in their fair city. It was our first trip out to the Pacific Northwest’s very own city of neighborhoods. We were looking for similarities with Boston when we were there. The obvious similarity hangs high above their downtown: we’ve got the Citgo Sign, they’ve got the Pepsi Sign. Unlike our Citgo, their Pepsi changes the neon every time the Pepsi logo changes, we were told it’s not always big neon. We took in the sights and hopped on the Monorail. Ok, we didn’t. And just when we thought the T was bad we learn that the two historic cement tracks tracing a short length from Seattle Center to the heart of Downtown haven’t been carrying the monorail since they met collided at the “pinch point.” Progress has since been hampered on the monorail expansion project.

But the Big Dig is what Seattle is getting all riled up about these days. The double-decker viaduct roadway that runs past downtown near Seattle’s Puget Sound waterfront is damaged and old. A strong earthquake could topple the structure. To replace the multi-lane thoroughfare above ground is one option, but those who push for greater aesthetics on the waterfront are pushing for a tunnel. Whenever it came up that we were in town from Boston we were without fail treated to some question that began “so, about the Big Dig…” We know that everyone across the nation helped Massachusetts pay for the Big Dig, but didn’t know that municipal tunneling projects now rouse images of the 15 Billion project we spent the last 15 years enduring. We tried to tell our Seattle friends that it wouldn’t be that bad, but the tolls for the new tunnel will kill ya coming back from the airport. Then we learned that Washingtonians (the state not the district) are adamantly anti-toll.