Newly-appointed Washington State Department of Transportation Secretary Lynn Peterson announced last week that Ron Paananen – now a private consultant – will lead a comprehensive assessment of the Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement, the State Route 520 Bridge Replacement and HOV Program, and the Interstate 5 Columbia River Crossing projects. I am concerned about the her choice of a former WSDOT administrator and project director to review these three mega-projects. Continue reading
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Sen. Curtis King, R-Yakima, and co-chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, today expressed his concern about the state Department of Transportation’s choice of a former WSDOT administrator and project director to review three of the state’s transportation mega-projects. Newly-appointed Transportation Secretary Lynn Peterson announced Thursday that Ron Paananen, now a private consultant, will lead a comprehensive assessment of the Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement, the State Route 520 Bridge Replacement and HOV Program, and the Interstate 5 Columbia River Crossing projects.
“I have no doubt that Mr. Paananen is technically qualified to lead the review of these three, multibillion-dollar projects; that’s not the issue here,” King said. “What troubles me is the fact that Mr. Paananen was a former administrator on two of these projects and his private employer receives millions in consulting fees from DOT, including current payouts of $2.4 million on the Columbia River Crossing – one of the projects to be reviewed. This is obviously an enormous conflict of interest.”