Exh B

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March 10,2009
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3                                                                         pzdD?amqPort c om missionwd                                                                                Dear President and Commissioners of the Port of Seattle:                                  1

Concerns for Seattle's 4.5 Billion dollar Deep Bored Tunnel:
1. 70% of Seattle voters opposed a "Surface/Tunnel Hybrid" replacement in the 2007 election. The
Voters of Seattle have said no to a tunnel replacement for the Viaduct. All state taxpayers will be
forced to pay the Tunnel cost overruns.
2. The lack of access from the tunnel exit to the Magnolia and the Ballard Industrial area and the loss
of 2 lanes on Nickerson Street for bike tramc will have a devastating effect on the annual 2 billion
dollar maritime, fishing industries and working family jobs located here.
3. The bored tunnel will only have two-thirds the vehicle capacity as the existing Viaduct. The 6%
tunnel grades will slow traffic in the uphill grade, increasing congestion, accidents and green house
gases.
4. With the added 35,000 vehicles and freight the Viaduct now carries from Ballard to SODOIWest
Seattle in this north-south corridor through the Western and Elliott connections, the additional
stoplights on waterfront Alaskan Way will increase congestion and gridlock
5. The Port of Seattle Cruise Ship Terminal is north of downtown Seattle at T-91 and over 800,000
passengers will load and unload annually. Up to 5,000 daily vehicle trips will travel fiom Sea-Tac
Airport to T-91 on 1-5 to a 1 lane Mercer Place Street and will increase 1-5 and 1 5Ave.~congestion.
6. The risk to the citizens in the tunnel over the Seattle Fault is being ignored by WSDOT.
A Bored Tunnel will increase the safety/cost risk due to the multiple geologic Hazards encountered.
(a) The bored tunnel will be built directly over the Seattle Fault Rupture Zone "northern portion of the
zone appears to be the most recently active and capable of rupturing the ground surface, resulting in several
feet of vertical offset. (AWV DEIS 2004)
(b) Southern entrance of the bored tunnel will be in a Mapped Tsunami Inundation and
lahars area and in the event of an Earthquake on the Seattle Fault the tunnel could be
flooded.
(c) Because the bored tunnel will be built over active Seattle fault with known 4-6 Meters
Uplift, it will have a higher Risk to rupture, injury to the public and could double the cost.
(2007 Seattle Fault Zone Map-attached)
(d) The Claremont Tunnel, located in the Hayward California fault zone, required 20
engineered breaking points and specially reinforcement, to withstand the 8.5 ft offset during
an earthquake. (Berkeley Seismological Laboratory-attached)
7. The majority of Seattle citizens support a solution that promotes safety, mobility while relieving
congestion, air pollution and unnecessary expense. The Tunnel could cost Seattle and King County
taxpayers an additional 2 Billion dollars and will greatly increase congestion through out the region.
8. Because these cost and Safety issues the Elevated highway should be moved forward in the EIS as
the AWV stakeholder team recommended.
Request Port of Seattle Commissioners not financially fund any part of this tunnel project until these
above issues have been resolved.
Sincerely,

Seattle Fault Zone


Arterial
State Highway
Interstate
Seattle Fault Z(
aterbodies







No warrantiesof any sort,
including accuracy,
fitness,or merchantability
accompany this product.
Copyright 2007, All Rights
Reserved, City of Seattle
Prepared by DPD
January 19,2007

Seisrno Blog: December 2008
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1 December 118,2008
The Clarenont Tunnel through the Berkeley Hills is a major aftery of the East Bay Municipal 'IJtilityDistrict's water supply system
(EBMUD). It delivers drinking water to more than 80f),000people living in East Bay communitiesfrom Oaklandto Richmond. Damage
to the tunnel by a major earthquake on the northern section of the Ha~wardFault would cawmorethan ''jjust"economic losses of $1.9
bitlion fsee bl oe Decemher 15,2008 1. A study commissioned by E B mmore than 10 yesus ago concluded that a quake would disrupt
water delivery for weeks, reduce firefighting capab'iities,and lead to severe Rtater rationing for up to six months during tunnel repairs.
To avoid service disruptions, EBW,the tunnel's owner, decided to make the tunnel safe and keep water flowing even if an earthquake
of magnitude 7 hits the area.
Unheknoxvnst to most of us, miners and engineers have been digging throughthe Berkeley EfiIis near the landmark ClaremontHotel for
the past two years. In June 2006, they started the project with a 430 ft long access tunnel into the fault zane. When that was complete,
they added a bypass tunnel pamilel to the old tunncI. This 1600ft long bypass is 10 fi amssexcept in the 100 ftlong section where it
crosses the fault zone. There it is 17 ft in diameter. This section is also specially reinforced It has a concrete Iiner more than 2 ft thick,
and more than 20 engineered breaking point. along the turnel which are designed to break and shift during a major earthquake. Here the
water is carried through an 85 ft long steel pipe wi'& a diameterof6 ft and a wall thickness of 3 inches. It rests on pipe guides.(See
"before" picture.)
In constructing the bypass tunnel, the engineers assumed the maximurnoffset during the earthquake rvodd be 85ftor less. If the tunneI
lining and the pipe guides shift that much during the quake, the pipe will stay intact (see "&ern picture). It rvill continue to deliver up to
130 million gallons of pure drinking water to users. Above ground, meanwhile, the quake might have Meaked havoc. EBA/IUD finished
the project this summer and its customers west of the Berkeley %ils now have a reliable water supply.
Another water agency, San Francisco Public Utility Commission (SFPUC), which srrppIies drinking water to the city from Hetch Hetchy
Reservoir, will also engage in a major upgrade project. Having completed many smaller improvements to their system, they will open
bids next springfor a new, 5 mile long water tunnel under the bay near the Dumbarton Bridge. (hraO24)








Yiie riesigtt of tleilerv EBMiZl Ci'aremont Tunnel in the f i m d F m &zone. (PiclurecDwtesy of D. he,EBdMUD.1
. . . - .. -- . ......- -------- - - - -
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