Richard Kress doesn't often use the deck at his Bellevue home because of noise from nearby Highway 520. He and others living near busy roadways have a lot riding on a 1.3-mile stretch of Interstate 405 in South Bellevue, where "quiet pavement" is being tested.

Lawmaker: 'We're not going back' on 520 bridge design Seattle Post Intelligencer (blog) As the system is contemplated now, however, he said there isn't enough capacity at Sound Transit's University of Washington rail station and grades into ... and more »

Neighborhood groups seek car limit for new 520 bridge Seattle Times Sound Transit last week worked out a deal to lease the express lanes of I-90 for its east-west train corridor. Transit managers contend that it would be ... and more »

Two polls in the last two days have demonstrated dramatically different levels of support for a proposed $241 million tax increase to replace the downtown waterfront seawall. One, produced by McGinn’s longtime campaign consultant and pollster, Bill Broadhead, and paid for by McGinn himself, says that voters support the mesaure by 70 percent. The other, produced by independent pollster SurveyUSA in collaboration with KING-5 TV, shows support of just 53 percent, seven points short of the 60 percent needed to pass a bond measure in Seattle.

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Gov. Chris Gregoire today said the federal high-speed rail money for Washington will provide 6,500 jobs in the state. "These are going to be family wage jobs, up and down our biggest transportation corridor in our state," Gregoire told reporters. Officials learned Wednesday the state will get $590 million in stimulus funds (read the story here). They [...]

Washington to get $590 million for high-speed rail improvements

Let's be more clear. This money is not to build a high-speed rail system between Portland and Seattle. This money is only to help Amtrak reach better on-time performance. And Amtrak trains are already highly subsidized, losing an average of $37 per passenger.

WPC completed a 30 page study on the government's supposed attempt to build HSR. Here are the ...

East Link presentation to Sound Transit board postponed Seattle Times (blog) A presentation on Bellevue light rail routes originally scheduled for Thursday's Sound Transit board meeting has been canceled, a transit spokesman said. ... and more »

Will speeding up and eliminating permits for big state highway projects save time and money? Or will it make it harder for the critics - especially those in Seattle - to be heard?

To live in Seattle is to live with potential doom. What draws us to this landscape? Its extraordinary beauty, for one, with the snowcapped peaks of Mount Rainier and Mount Baker acting as bookends to the Cascades skyline. Proximity to water too, deep harbors scoured by ancient glaciers, rushing rivers, numerous lakes. Rare lowlands, flat and fertile, but also the surrounding hills that offer commanding views of "God's Country."

Or is it a preview of the new Pompeii?

Cities, we know, are not invulnerable, even in this century. Port Au Prince is in ruins, New Orleans still recovering and ...