State Picks Two Viaduct Finalists Everybody is Sure to Hate

According to the Seattle Times, the state has decided on two finalists for the viaduct replacement:

• A "surface and transit" plan that features three southbound lanes on Alaskan Way, and three northbound lanes on Western Avenue.

• An elevated bypass highway that has two lanes in each direction, running side-by-side on independent bridge structures — the cheapest of the highway scenarios, the state says. It would include a Western Avenue exit to Belltown, Seattle Center and Interbay.

Yippee! Both options reduce capacity, yet will cost more than $3.3 billion to implement. Does it ever strike you that our leadership is totally incompetent?