If Seattle doesn't get the $2 billion approved by the Washington Legislature to help replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct, the city will tear down the deteriorating elevated highway anyway because it is unsafe, said Mayor Greg Nickels during an interview last week about his campaign for a second term in office.

Delivery of the promised $2 billion hinges on continuation of the state gas tax. The Legislature passed a 9.5-cent gas tax increase to be phased in over four years. It would raise about $5.5 billion for 274 road and bridge projects around Washington. The Alaskan Way Viaduct is the biggest project, but $500 million also would go toward replacement of the 520 floating bridge across Lake Washington.

In opposition to the gas-tax hike stands Initiative 912, which will be on the ballot in November. Twice as many people as required signed petitions to get I-912 on the ballot, so it's expected to have a lot of voter support. If the initiative wins at the polls, cars and trucks will be using Alaskan Way the surface street instead of the viaduct, according to Nickels.

Congress approved $231 million toward the viaduct project, Nickels said, which was more money than what Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert got for a project in his home district. More federal money could come in the future too, he added.

If voters kill the gas tax increase, the city would look to regional and local tax sources to replace the waterfront highway, said Nickels

"I want to continue to push forward," Nickels said.

New Orleans' response to Hurricane Katrina was on the mayor's mind too.

"I've been thinking about it a lot," he said. New Orleans is a bit smaller than Seattle.

Without the threat of hurricanes, the mayor has been pondering how Seattle would respond to a major earthquake wreaking similar widespread damage to our city. How would people be evacuated and where would they go? Nickels admits, he doesn't know.

"Evacuating a city is unthinkable," he said.

He's glad voters in 2003 approved a $229 million fire and emergency response plan levy to seismically strengthen two-thirds of Seattle's fire stations, which weren't expected to withstand a powerful earthquake.

"Fires are the worst part of an earthquake," Nickels said.

Nickels acknowledged Seattle has a large backlog of public works projects waiting for money to get them done. Nickels said the city will put together a list of infrastructure repair needs and ask voters to approve either a levy or bonds to pay for the fix-ups.

The state shares some of its revenue with Washington cities to help pay for road maintenance and other infrastructure. Seattle used to get about $37 million per year, but since voters approved tax-cutting measures in recent years, the city now receives approximately $12 million annually.

Regarding the future of the monorail, Nickels said it comes down to two options: build less or raise taxes. He's waiting to see what course of action the Monorail Project board of directors will decide.

"The biggest challenge is to restore the confidence of the voters," Nickels said. Killing the unpopular $11 billion financial plan was "a good step."

If the monorail cannot continue, the city would look to establish more bus-only lanes.

How about light rail to West Seattle and Ballard?

Even if it is feasible, light rail projects beyond what Sound Transit is already building are "a number of years away," he said.

Although Nickels has been seeking higher height limits for downtown skyscrapers and condominiums, he is not advocating increased building heights for neighborhood business districts in West Seattle or Ballard.

"We're not revisiting that," he said. Nickels is content with the building height limits set by people during the neighborhood planning process a decade ago.

Tim St. Clair can be reached at tstclair@robinsonnews.com or 932-0300.