Members of the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) were on-hand Wednesday night at Madison Middle School for an Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement “scoping” meeting.

The meeting was designed as an informative meet-and-greet with boards explaining the project plans circling the room. Members of WSDOT, the Seattle Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration were on-hand to hear comments and explain the recent bored tunnel legislation.

The focus of the meeting was to gain feedback for a second supplemental draft environmental impact statement (SDEIS) on the proposed bored tunnel alternative.

“The focus of this meeting is to give the public a chance to come out and understand what the project is, what we’re proposing, and to let us know what issues or concerns they have on what they would like to see included on the environmental documentation,” said Allison Hanson, director of environmental services at WSDOT.

Hanson said that WSDOT has never developed environmental documentation on a bored tunnel alternative before. She explained that the resulting SDEIS will address a range of environmental issues such as air and water quality, visual impacts, cultural resource issues and the project’s effect on historic structures.

Economic impacts will also be taken into consideration.

Meeting attendees were able to give comments in a variety of ways. A court reporter was on site to hear comments directly. Comment boxes were also set up for written feedback.

Hanson emphasized that community members unable to attend the scoping meetings have until July 10 to submit comments.

“We take all these comments into consideration as we move forward toward publishing the supplemental draft EIS,” she said.

According to Hanson, the second SDEIS should be finished by early 2010. Construction on the viaduct project is projected to begin in 2011 with the tunnel open for drivers by 2015.

The final scoping meeting is scheduled for Thursday, June 11 at Leif Erickson Hall in Ballard from 6 to 8 p.m.

All meeting information will be available on-line at www.alaskanwayviaduct.org.

Comments can be submitted at SDEIS2ScopingComments@wsdot.wa.gov or by mail to:
Alaskan Way Viaduct and Seawall Replacement Program Attn: Angela Freudenstein, 999 Third Ave., Suite 2424, Seattle, WA 98104.

The deadline for all comments is July 10.