AP: Seattle monorail suffers big blow [View All]

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Seattle monorail suffers big blow

Civic dream fades as support erodes

By Elizabeth M. Gillespie
ASSOCIATED PRESS

September 26, 2005

SEATTLE – The City Council has yanked its support for the Seattle Monorail, dealing a blow that all but killed the financially troubled transit project.

The nine-member council unanimously passed a resolution Friday saying the city will deny street-use permits for the monorail's proposed 14-mile, $2 billion Green Line. Hours later, in a last-ditch effort to keep the project alive, the monorail board approved a Nov. 8 ballot measure to shorten the line.

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A citywide monorail system has been a civic dream since a one-mile route was built for the Seattle World's Fair in 1962. More than 40 years later, it's the only train in town.

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The monorail's latest troubles began when revenues fell short of projections. Then in June, the board revealed that building the line would cost $11 billion over 50 years, including $9 billion in interest on low-grade bonds.


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