Seattle's Monorail: An Indecent Proposal?

Would you pay $6 billion for a 13-stop system?

1 minute read

March 6, 2005, 7:00 AM PST

By David Gest


"Are the wheels coming off America's biggest monorail commuter-train experiment? As the [Seattle Monorail Project] slashes at a bid proposal—-the project might be losing as many as six of 19 planned stations—-monorail officials say progress is being made...But according to some estimates, a 30-year monorail bond issuance, at 6 percent interest to finance $1.5 billion, will, over its lifetime, cost taxpayers more than $4 billion. A similar...50-year bond would mean $6 billion paid by taxpayers over time."

Thanks to David Gest

Wednesday, March 2, 2005 in Seattle Weekly

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