Tunnel Option Selected

By now you have heard that the state has agreed to replace the viaduct with a tunnel. I believe it was 2007 when the Governor and the WSDOT said they would not support Mayor Nickels 4 lane tunnel plan, which called for converting the shoulders to exit only lanes during rush hour because it cost too much and because it wouldn't move as much traffic as the viaduct. I thought that the replacement option had to move as much traffic as the current viaduct. From what I saw though, none of the options presented last month did this and the one they selected sure doesn't have the same capacity.

Does anybody know why this criteria changed? It also seems like the cost estimates skyrocketed in the last two years. Maybe if we wait for deflation we can get a better deal. Of course if we wait for two years we can build during the hyperinflation that Obama's stimulus will create. I wonder if they took that into account when they did their cost estimates.