The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority signed a contract yesterday that will launch the first half of a 23-mile Metrorail extension to Dulles International Airport, committing the region to a $5.1 billion transit project to be funded primarily with local taxes and tolls.The contract calls explicitly for an above-ground segment through Tysons Corner, effectively silencing local efforts supporting a tunnel to encourage a more pedestrian-friendly, aesthetic revamping of Northern Virginia's largest business district.
I expect that nobody will be happy with this.
They did indicate that Fairfax County could kill the thing as a whole by refusing to fund it, but this would kill the entire project, and the article suggested that this was unlikely. The county will vote on June 18th.
Our friend Bill Vincent was quoted in the article as well.
I have really mixed feelings about this. I currently live in Tysons - about 1/2 mile from one of the proposed stations. If it hadn't been for the fact that this was where my girlfriend lives, I would still be down in Alexandria. Although to be honest, we have kicked around the idea of moving out before the construction gets started.
We are already seeing some changes. The Hummer dealership has closed and moved out, and that's always a positive sign in my book.
If the county were to vote down funding their share, we would be back at square one for the whole project, which would mean several more years of delays.