In February 2011, when the Seattle City Council voted 8-1 to sign an agreement allowing the tunnel project to proceed, McGinn vetoed the ordinance. The City Council then overrode his veto, again 8-1. After the March 2011 Tōhoku earthquake in Japan McGinn, citing the quake, called for the viaduct to be pulled down a year early. No plan to replace or mitigate the lost traffic capacity was put forward. The call is opposed by some businesses and transportation experts. The president of Ballard's North Seattle Industrial Association called the likely fallout of early closure "a horror show" citing the corridor's role as the primary arterial for workers, equipment and supplies between manufacturers along Seattle's two key manufacturing zones, the Duwamish Waterway and along the Lake Washington Ship Canal. Washington's State's Department of Transportation viaduct program administrator also opposed the idea saying, "To simply close the viaduct without a reasonable replacement in place would be very damaging to the city of Seattle economically. To start over now and pursue a new alternative would delay the overall project schedule. The viaduct is just as vulnerable as it was before the earthquake in Japan."