The Ditch That Wouldn't Die: Supreme Court Kills Lake Washington Canal Assessment
Five justices strike down the $1,075,000 assessment meant to fund Seattle's long-sought Lake Washington canal — a project that has been the city's obsession and a state election issue for a quarter century.
OLYMPIA — The $1,075,000 assessment to pay for the proposed construction of the Lake Washington canal was held invalid by a decision of the State Supreme Court, the opinion being signed by five judges and two filing a dissenting opinion. This famous ditch, which has been vital to Seattle for nearly a quarter of a century, which has been the chief issue at times in state elections, seems to have now received a fatal blow. Every Federal Congress since the early '80s has been asked to appropriate money for the construction of the canal and a number of plans have been started from time to time.
“This famous ditch, which has been vital to Seattle for nearly a quarter of a century, which has been the chief issue at times in state elections, seems to have now received a fatal blow.”
The Lake Washington Ship Canal was eventually built anyway — the Montlake Cut opened in 1917 — proving that a 'fatal blow' in a state supreme court is rarely the last word on a project a city has decided it needs. The fight over who pays for big infrastructure, and whether assessments survive legal challenge, is as current as any modern transportation levy.
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