On March 8, TysonsTunnel.org President Scott Monett sent a blistering, scathing (add your own synomyms here) letter to Virginia Secretary of Transportation Pierce Homer. I strongly recommend that you read the entire letter, which is four pages long. In the meantime, here's the intro just to give you a flavor (bolding added for emphasis):
We are very disappointed by a recent letter dated March 7, 2007 sent to you by Mathew Tucker, Director of the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (VDRPT), concerning the Preliminary Engineering and Environmental materials that were submitted by TysonsTunnel.org on January 22, 2007. The letter and the review process which VDRPT has engaged to-date - including the February 26, 2007 review team report and the March 5, 2007 meeting - clearly demonstrate that our materials have not received any serious consideration or review by VDRPT. This kind of perfunctory, dismissive, inadequate, and frankly sham review is unacceptable and particularly disturbing given that there is a real likelihood that the tunnel could save the Virginia taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.
I would certainly hope that this letter, and this matter in general, gets the attention that it so richly deserves. As do most residents of Northern Virginia, I strongly support the tunnel option in Tysons Corner. The fact is, the tunnel is a better deal all the way around, and there's really no excuse, except for ridiculous bureaucratic red tape that Franz Kafka would recognize in a nanosecond, for continuing to move ahead with the misguided "aerial" option. In addition, the fact is that this issue could have significant political repercussions for those who find themselves on the wrong side of it, given the overwhelming public support for a tunnel. The bottom line is that it's time for action on this issue, with the general guiding philosophy that we should do this 100-year project right, or not do it at all.
"A rail tunnel under Tysons Corner would take nearly three years longer to build than an elevated track, would cost at least $160 million more and would jeopardize $900 million in federal money for the Metrorail extension to Dulles International Airport, according to a study commissioned by state officials."
With this in mind I am afraid I must retract my earlier statement of support of the tunnel.
"Metro board member T. Dana Kauffman, a tunnel advocate and member of the Fairfax Board of Supervisors, said Metro and local officials need a clearer understanding of Kaine's main objection to seriously considering the tunnel -- that it would jeopardize federal funding.
The committee voted for an independent analysis of the federal review process to include the tunnel option."
I am curious as to what "jepordize 900 million in federal money" actually means
So it isn't over but its pretty close to a done deal for the aboveground
The fact is that the new "study" commissioned by the state was a bunch of FUD. That's what the letter linked to in this post goes through point by point and refutes. The TysonsTunnel.org group has its money where its mouth is. They lined up a company, Dragados, who has submitted a fixed-price, fixed-time bid to do the tunnel. It's $200 million less and 6 months shorter than the elevated rail. This is a contract. This is a large company that will take losses if they fail to fulfill this contract. Businesses are not in the business of throwing away money. They believe what their engineers are telling them and with good reason.
The thing about losing $900 million in federal funding is FUD too. Kaine, Davis, Wolf, and Moran have been misquoting the FTA all along as illustrated in this article (in which the FTA is indignant at being misquoted by politicians) and this letter (from the former US SecTrans). The FTA has said that going to a tunnel WILL NOT endanger federal funding.
Bill Turque's article was about the Tucker letter that Scott Monett and tysonstunnel.org responded to in the Lowell's above linked letter. That Post article did not include Scott's letter and did not include the serious discussion at the Metro Board on Thursday.
The Washington Times did report on that board meeting:
A couple of things here. Because we have so many politicians pointing fingers at each other while trying to pass the hot potato, we should not dare take one article and/or one media outlet as factual.
Even the Times article failed to point out Tom Davis' false statement about the 2002 Fairfax Board of Supervisors decision. Elevated rail and rapid bus transit were the only two viable options when the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors made their decision in 2002. Advancements in large-bore diameter tunneling in Europe, which can economically accommodate two parallel rail tracks under Tysons Corner, did not gain widespread acceptance and recognition until after 2004.
The Times article failed to mention or even infer that the Metro Board only scheduled the Thursday meeting to hear the different perspectives. Even the Examiner picked up on this earlier in the week:
However, Tucker's letter was released on Wednesday, and the board had that letter in hand during their meeting. Alarmed, confounded, perplexed, bewildered, sham, and disappointment were words that were frequently used before, during, and after that board meeting (and that wasn't just Scott saying those words). Needless to say, as reported by the Times, the Metro Board now wants their own investigation! The board is limited on what they can do, but they have every authority to investigate the feasibility of risk as it pertains to revisiting a tunnel option and/or changing any plans altogether.
So, in regards to this fight, with so many politicians and civil servants either digging their heels or running for cover, and a variety of news reporters who just don't quite look into everything they should look into before they print, then we have to read everything, keep up with the tysonstunnel updates, personally speak with their elected officials, and even call Scott Monnett and/or Tatyana Schum for questions and concerns.
A final note. With so much attention on Phase 1 of the metro extension to Dulles (from West Falls Church metro to Wiehle Ave. along the toll road), Phase 2 (to Dulles and on to the Greenway) will soon be on the Federal transportation legislative schedule. Believe it or not, the Federal Transit Administration, WMATA, and private contractors are actually looking into the likely possibility of a LARGE BORE TUNNEL under Route 28 to the airport and then continuing on until reaching the Greenway. No kidding, without intervention and leadership we could actually see a commerce-draining, traffic-nightmare construction of an elevated line at Tysons, and then witness a tunnel being dug at the airport!!! Where is the logic in that, and why can't our leaders and the press simply put two-and-two together??
Novamiddleman, please keep the faith, stay informed, and question the media's reports. Also, and I think Lowell may agree, even the Post considers NoVA issues as secondary to Maryland and DC. I was not surprised by the incomplete Friday morning Post story. And please read Scott's letter.
Throw in the truly unknown question about the federal funding piece
I only cited the article because it was posted on Friday and represents the latest.
I suggest we wait on the results of the metro board study
From my count there are at least 3 different studies and proposals with different sets of cost numbers and timelines.
Yes, but only one of those has a bid behind it guaranteeing it.
Throw in the truly unknown question about the federal funding piece
WaPo:
Federal transit officials said yesterday that Virginia has until spring 2008 to submit its plans for a Metrorail extension to Dulles International Airport, cheering supporters of an underground route through Tysons Corner who said the additional time would allow the state to change its decision from an elevated track to a tunnel.The officials' statements, at a Federal Transit Administration news conference on the federal budget, appeared to undermine one of the main arguments against switching from a mostly elevated route to a below-ground one for the extension's four-mile stretch through Tysons.
[...]
"This is a local decision. We're neutral," said Federal Transit Administrator James S. Simpson. "If the governor wishes to reexamine it, he's free to do that."