“Seattle process” aside, most of the decisions we make around here are really driven by economic imperatives that are nearly impossible to ignore. Regardless of politics, regional and national economic pressures still ensure that the big transportation projects that matter most in Seattle will get done—eventually. But not without first encountering two major hurdles along…

It’s almost too good to imagine: The year is 2016, and burly guys in hardhats and blaze-orange vests have swept up the last of the dust from all of Seattle’s transportation construction megaprojects. The State Route 99 tunnel under downtown, the new State Route 520 floating bridge and the University Link light rail extension to…