In case you missed the Friday afternoon news dump, Mayor Jenny Durkan announced she is halting work on the Center City Connector streetcar because of mounting costs, but delay would have a high cost in its own right. Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) Interim Director Goran Sparrman revealed at a Seattle City Council briefing this morning that the department estimates delay will add between $9.9 million and $13.6 million to the budget due to cost escalation in contracts. Including utility work, which was exempt from the mayor’s stop-work order, the project is projected to cost at least $200 million–an apparent $23 million overrun.
A new “potential revised schedule” Sparrman distributed at the hearing had streetcar construction starting January 2, 2019 and revenue service targeted for March 2021–pushing it back from 2020. Nonetheless, Sparrman said the stop order was a “prudent pause.”
The budget seems to indicate that some south-end streetcar work may be held for Alaskan Way Viaduct demolition–another construction project that will disrupt travel near the waterfront. Uncertain timelines are not unique to the streetcar project. The Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement tunnel project is about three years behind schedule mostly due to the breakdown of tunnel boring machine dubbed Bertha–and many urbanists ruefully noted officials all too willing to pay for Bertha’s cost overruns. The tunnel is expected to open later this year, but the viaduct will still need to be demolished and replaced with a new Alaskan Way mega-boulevard. Is lessening traffic impacts for motorists a motivating factor for delaying the streetcar project?
A handout indicates a potential revised schedule with the Center City Connector opening March 2021. The cost of delay is estimated between $9.9M and $13.6M. Unclear how delaying to get costs under control saves money given cost escalation. #SeattleSteeetcar pic.twitter.com/yIY4JD6mF7
— The Urbanist (@UrbanistOrg) April 2, 2018
