Outgoing viaduct replacement project manager Ron Paananen had some bad news for Seattle City Council members at a briefing on the status of the tunnel project this afternoon: Funding for transit to help offset the impact of tunnel construction, a total of $30 million, is expected to run out by 2014, two years before the tunnel is supposed to be finished.

The PI.com reports from this afternoon's meeting:
“We recognize there’s a gap, starting about 2013-14, to continue the service we have ramped up that should continue through the rest of the construction of the bored tunnel,” Paananen said.

It had been hoped that King County would have the taxing flexibility to pay for the tunnel-related bus service after the state funding dried up, but Paananen said that didn’t happen. And King County Metro is struggling to come up with enough money to pay for its entire bus network.

The state legislature will have to approve any new revenue source to pay for transit in King County after the two-year, $20 vehicle license fee adopted by the King County Council this year runs out.