West Seattleites will get a chance after all to vote on how best to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct but no one knows whether state officials will heed the message.

Two questions will be on the March 13 ballot: Should the Alaskan Way Viaduct be replaced with a four-lane tunnel, yes or no? Should the existing viaduct be replaced with a new wider viaduct, yes or no?

A few hours before Friday's deadline for making it on the ballot, the Seattle City Council voted 6-3 to hold a public vote.

It's unclear how the election would be interpreted if people vote yes on both ideas.

Beyond the lack of clarity in the ballot choices, Governor Chris Gregoire declared building a tunnel is now off the table and the state will focus on a new viaduct. Or the money appropriated for replacing the viaduct will be spent on expanding the 520 Bridge across Lake Washington.

The governor had urged a citywide vote be taken but she wanted Seattle to vote on the two-level, six-lane version of the tunnel that's been discussed for several years. But Mayor Greg Nickels recently submitted an abbreviated and less expensive version of the tunnel idea. His latest proposal, dubbed "tunnel lite," would have four lanes instead of six and be on one subterranean level rather than two.

The governor balked at a vote on tunnel lite. The stacked, six-lane version has been analyzed for its engineering, its traffic capacity and its impact on the waterfront environment. No such studies have been done on the tunnel proposal voters will consider in less than two months.

City Councilwoman Jan Drago introduced the resolution calling for the public vote.

"Olympia doesn't speak for Seattle," she said. "We can express ourselves."

The March vote "is not about the tunnel, it's about the future," Drago said. "The tunnel gets us to the future."

The new tunnel proposal, which Drago called the "surface tunnel hybrid," is $1.2 billion less expensive than the six-lane version, she said.

"This is political tyranny and a bit of a sham," said Councilman Peter Steinbrueck. The March 13 ballot will be a selection among "rigged choices," he said.

Steinbrueck reminded the City Council "key state leaders" previously rejected the tunnel approach. He also questioned whether a four-lane tunnel would be big enough to carry 110,000 vehicles per day.

Steinbrueck, an architect, said building a wider replacement viaduct between the city and Puget Sound would make Seattle a "laughingstock" of the nation.

"It would be the destruction of our waterfront and the heart of our city," he said. "It focuses on auto capacity, not mobility."

"If I could trade this job to stop that elevated structure, I would," Steinbrueck said.

The hybrid tunnel could be built more quickly, said Councilwoman Jean Godden, who also mentioned the opportunity to change some of the downtown waterfront.

"I see reclaiming nine acres on the sweetest harbor in the world," she said.

Godden said the underground structure is a trench, not a tunnel. She reminded the council that Seattle taxpayers paid for the I-90 tunnel through Mercer Island.

"People around here are a little claustrophobic," she said.

Building a tunnel below sea level is a risk, said Council President Nick Licata.

"This is going to be a false election," he said. "We will look like we can't get our act together."

Voting for the March 13 election were Drago, Tom Rasmussen, Richard McIver, Richard Conlin, Sally Clark and Jean Godden.

Voting against were Nick Licata, David Della and Steinbrueck.

Mayor Greg Nickels was pleased with the prospect of a public vote.

"Olympia now knows that the voters of Seattle have a clear expectation that they will be given honest choices; that their voices will be heard, and their choices respected," said the mayor in a press release issued after the City Council decision.

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