Businesses along Seattle's waterfront say they would be devastated by construction of a tunnel to replace the dangerous viaduct. Luckily there's growing support for a less-disruptive option than a costly tunnel.
Businesses of the Seattle Historic Waterfront Association say the loss of parking, removal of sidewalks and visual clutter during construction of a cut-and-cover tunnel would cut their sales by 85 to 90 percent. They want to up to one-third of the total cost of the project devoted to mitigation.
Their protest lends support to another option that would replace the viaduct sooner with extensive improvements to roads and transit. Here's an excellent summary of the opportunity Seattle has to get this project right.