Shocked and disappointed: That's how Patricia Galloway, chair of the three-member expert review panel for Washington state's $2-billion Highway 99 bored-tunnel project, described the panel's scrapping by state lawmakers.
State legislators apparently perceived the panel as a legal risk and wanted to retain a clear distinction between the roles of the state and the contractor, avoiding any appearance that the state-named panel was providing recommendations to the contractor. Neither the Washington State Joint Transportation Committee, which appointed the panel, nor its coordinator would comment beyond confirming the panel's demise.