No-Bid Contract: Dulles Metro Extension

By: Hans Mast
Published On: 2/2/2007 12:19:10 AM

The Metro is scheduled to be extended to Tysons Corner and Dulles with construction to begin as early as late 2007. The decision-making process has been incredibly one-sided and under-reported in the media. The rhetoric that is being put forth in the media, from Richmond, and most notably from our Northern Virginia Congressional Delegation on Capitol Hill is absolutely absurd! The FTA has announced that the Federal funding is NOT in limbo, as has been claimed all along by our legislators.

The total contract as it stands is $4 billion and is being given to Bechtel without competitive bidding! Not only is it a no-bid contract, but it is going to Bechtel, the infamous contractor responsible for the "Big Dig" fiasco in Boston. Bechtel is also under scrutiny for Iraq contracts it has been paid for, but which were never carried out.
The government is adamantly opposed to even exploring the option of doing a tunnel instead of an elevated railway, which is the current plan. Independent studies have shown the tunnel option to take less time and money than an elevated railway. In addition a tunnel would create less traffic and business disruption, would have lower lifecycle costs (double lifespan), and would create significant ($150+ million) operational and maintenance savings.

A group called TysonsTunnel.org is fighting to get the Commonwealth, most specifically Governor Kaine and Virginia Secretary of Transportation Pierce Homer, to do two things, neither of which have been done to date:

  1. 1. Give equal consideration to the Tunnel option
  2. 2. Competitively bid the entire project, in a side-by-side comparison, so that taxpayers can see the cost analysis in the light of day.

TysonsTunnel.org is begging for adequate and accurate media coverage. With nearly 15,000 petition signatures to date (sign the online petition), TysonsTunnel.org is not giving up its grassroots effort to get the tunnel considered and to get the entire project bid. This important decision will impact Virginia for 100+ years. To have a $4B contract go to a single source without adequately considering other contractors is ludicrous. I call on Governor Kaine, SecTrans Homer, and our NoVA congressional delegation to make the right choice for Virginia instead of the right choice for the bank accounts of the fat cats of Bechtel.

By the way, Bechtel does not do tunneling the way it would have to be done in Tysons. Bechtel does "tunnels" by way of "cut and cover" - that's how they did the "Big Dig" in Boston. On the other hand, the tunneling technology that TysonsTunnel.org is proposing for Tysons is the same technology that is being used around the world, most notably in the building of the "Chunnel", which I believe came in under budget and ahead of schedule.

The hard, quantifiable fact of estimated lower costs and construction time is joined by the following list of advantages a tunnel has:

  1. - Lower lifecycle costs (double lifespan)
  2. - Capital cost, operational savings, and schedule advantages for utilizing portions of the tunnel for yard functions in lieu of the West Falls Church rail yard - a possible net savings in excess of $50 million. The potential for underground storage at Tysons for up to 80 vehicles will increase operational efficiency for start up in the morning rush hour while Wiehle Ave. is a terminal station.
  3. - The reuse of excavated material from the tunnel for necessary fill elsewhere in the project (e.g. in portions of the median of the Dulles Access Road).
  4. - Lower operating and maintenance costs associated with tunnels in the Metro system (savings on maintenance costs alone were estimated at $100+ million by the 2006 American Society of Civil Engineers panel).
  5. - Reduced business disruption costs over four years.

The Elevated Railway option promises to bring an elevated concrete structure (70 feet high in some locations at Tysons) with piers every 100 feet. Picture the "Mixing Bowl" where I-395 meets I-495 and you get the idea of the enormity and height of this construction project slated for Tysons. Construction vehicles will snarl traffic for an estimated four years! Every INCH of Rte. 7 from Koons Auto Dealership (at Rte. 123) down to the Toll Road would need to be torn up to accommodate the widening of Rte. 7 so that the elevated structure could run down the median.

In contrast, the Tunnel option would take an estimated 8 months shorter construction time, and all construction would take place underground, with the small exception of the station drilling that would take place on four small footprints in the Tysons area. Construction vehicles would be limited to either end of the tunnel, to remove the "muck" (a technical term) from the tunnel boring machine. That tunnel boring machine could work 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, with no delays due to weather or utility relocation (there is no need to relocate utilities since the tunneling takes place BELOW all of the utilities).

I believe that a careful analysis of the Tunnel option - with a delay no greater than an estimated several months (it is estimated that the construction time saved on the Tunnel option would more than make up for this upfront time involved in analyzing the option) - is what is needed given this monumental, 100+ year decision that the Commonwealth (your tax dollars!) is about to fund.

TysonsTunnel.org needs our help - it is being run by the McLean Chamber of Commerce and is operating on donations alone. It is begging for adequate and accurate media coverage. With nearly 15,000 petition signatures to date (sign the online petition), TysonsTunnel.org is not giving up its grassroots effort to get the tunnel considered and to get the entire project bid. To have a $4B contract go to a single source without adequately considering other contractors is ludicrous. We must get our government to make the right choice for Virginia instead of the right choice for the fat cats of Bechtel.

Comments



this is an OUTRAGE (chiefsjen - 2/2/2007 10:37:25 AM)
i work in federal govt contracting -- this single source bid makes me want to puke -- especially to Bechtel. thanks a lot Va elected officials for screwing Virginians yet again.


Who Awarded this Contract? (jackiehva - 2/2/2007 3:12:44 PM)
As a retired federal contracting officer, I'm appalled at this sole-source award (if this is true).  Who signed the contract?  Why were there no competitive bids?  Are other companies capable of performing the work?  And what about PAST PERFORMANCE of the Bechtel"?  Who is calling the shots from high places?  I smell PROTESTS!  Does the Commonwealth work under fewer regulations than those in federal contracting?  I'd sure like to read the terms and conditions of this contract....  The whole thing stinks!


Last night.... (ericy - 2/2/2007 11:28:52 AM)

there was a happy hour held by the tysonstunnel folks.  The guy who heads it says that he has spoken to the FTA, and that the FTA is agnostic regarding this point.  As far as the tysonstunnel folks are concerned, the matter is entirely in the hands of Governor Kaine.  In the Post this morning, Kaine says he doesn't want to revisit the decision however.

They also mentioned that they had gotten a fixed-cost bid from the Spanish company that had done some of the previous work, and the bid came in 2-300$ million less than their previous estimate.  They will have a press release sometime in the next couple of days.  I don't know how this new price compares to the overhead approach, but Bechtel is late in delivering their own bid.

I don't know if these are technically bids however, I suppose what they got was a far more detailed cost estimate for the project, and the company is now comfortable enough in the costs that they are willing to make it fixed-cost.



Bechtel pays politicians for its no bid contracts (Andrea Chamblee - 2/2/2007 2:26:21 PM)
This will create bottlenecks and misery that will extend all over the Beltway and feeder roads.

Bechtel spreads a lot of money around in NoVa to get what it wants.

$50,000 to Citizens for Better Transportation.  The "Citizen" seems to be developer Myron P. Erkiletian.

Bechtel also gives to Gillmore's New Majority Project that gives to the incumbents.

Bechtel's PAC gave Tom Davis $10k, the last $3 right before he paid a visit to Gov Kaine to tell Kaine to back off the tunnel.  Bechtel exec Wiliam Friend and his wife personally gave Davis $15k.

I wonder how Bechtel has made so many millions while it escaped inquiry from the Government Reform Committee while Tom Davis was Chair?



Tom Davis was BOUGHT (jackiehva - 2/2/2007 3:21:42 PM)
This stinks of impropriety.  Was the Spanish company's proposal even considered?  Does Bechtel have an open ended deal that will become a money pit, literally, with the Commonwealth's long-suffering taxpayer shovelling cash into the hole for years to come.  What do you have to say about this, Tom Davis?


How in the world (totallynext - 2/3/2007 12:44:30 AM)
would Tom Davis be in any decision making position for a State of Virginia project?

I mean - I am sure he could put pressure but last I checked he is a US congressman not a VA delegate.



Pressure Power (Hans Mast - 2/3/2007 3:06:01 PM)
As a U.S. congressman, he has a lot of influence with Governor Kaine because he is responsible to earmark federal pork to VA. He helped pressure Gov. Kaine to do this and Gov. Kaine was weak-kneed enough to give in.


Davis also raises more money than almost any VA politician (Andrea Chamblee - 2/5/2007 10:58:50 PM)
and he can donate money, staff, office space and laptops to Republicans for legislature that will make Kaine's life miserable. He also has seed money to bring in more challengers; recently Davis has donated to Earnie Porta's challenger, and Jeff Dion's challenger, as recent examples.  He has donated over $22k as an individual, and almost $1 MILLION as Va Victory PAC and Federal Victory PAC.


Kaine & NoVA Reps (Hans Mast - 2/2/2007 3:37:35 PM)
This is a bi-partisan mistake/sin and needs a bipartisan solution. The GOP Representatives pushed for this and Kaine had the final decision. It's in Kaine's hands now. For those of you that have followed me in the past, I am an ardent conservative. I am, however, a conservative who is not afraid to criticize Republican party members when they stray. We must put pressure on those with power to turn this thing around. This whole thing has a two-fold problem:

1. Sole-source/no-bid contract
2. Elevated railway instead of tunnel

Neither are the right choice for VA and the method used to arrive at the current choice is dubious at best.

I am going to Bible college in PA right now and have little to no time to pursue this vigorously. I am just getting ready to embark on a weeklong choir tour to Canada.

I am counting on y'all to pick up the ball and run with it. We must create a grassroots stir about this matter and force the VA government to at least give the tunnel a fair and public hearing. Let's do what the blogosphere does best.