Rumors and uncertainty fill the void left by teetering Metro project
By Monty Tayloe
In the wake of FTA's denunciation of the Dulles Metrorail project, the natural question for the entire region is "What happens next?"
For most parties, the answer still seems to be a rail project, with FTA Administrator James Simpson's opinion on the Dulles Rail project to the contrary.
As Gov. Tim Kaine (D) works on a response to the FTA's denial of funding, work crews continue to labor in the center of Tysons Corner, relocating utilities to make way for a rail project that could be almost a billion dollars short.
"Our position is that we don't want to fall behind schedule. That's why utility relocation began, to maintain the schedule," explained Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority spokeswoman Tara Hamilton.
The work is funded by some of the nearly $140 million that Virginia has already spent on the coming of rail. The state's not alone -- the county has spent almost $1 million on planning consultants for the Tysons Land Use Task Force to plan a new Tysons Corner centered around the rail line.
All of that money spent to get ready for Metro creates a lot of momentum, so much that many area leaders don't believe the train can truly fail to arrive.
"Great projects never die," said Bill Lecos, of the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce.
That argument is the underpinning behind the position of Dranesville Supervisor John Foust, who sees the FTA's refusal to fund the current project as an opportunity.
"This gives us another chance to do the project right," said Foust.
His vision for the future of the project echoes the stance of many Vienna and McLean residents and TysonsTunnel.org. They want the FTA to put the project and its allocated funding on hold, allowing planners to submit one that's competitively bid and more palatable to Tysons Corner residents.
Highly placed sources in the Tysons business community say that this is what the FTA is leaning toward, but time will have to tell. Other sources close to the negotiations with the FTA say that the tunnel remains "a pipe dream." Such a time out would almost certainly require at least another year of delay, during which construction costs for the project would almost certainly rise.
Immediately after the FTA's announcement, rumors swirled that Northern Virginia's congressional delegation would find some other way to appropriate the money. According those who work in Congress, the idea is problematic.
"I don't know how that would happen. $900 million is a lot for an earmark," said Austin Durrer, an aide to U.S. Rep. Jim Moran (D-8th).
Since this weekend, congressional and Fairfax County leaders have said they are not working on alternative solutions, but on bringing the FTA around.
Waiting in the wings is the specter of private funding, but since it would almost certainly involve ceding control of the Dulles Toll Road to a private backer – the same concept that was unsuccessfully proposed before the toll road was turned over to the airports authority – many area lawmakers are uncomfortable with the idea.
“It would be very problematic to go forward with just private funding,” said county board chairman Gerry Connolly (D-At large).
On Monday, Supervisor Pat Herrity (R-Springfield) put forward a resolution asking the Board of Supervisors to endorse a bus rapid transit system in place of rail, but it was soundly defeated.
However, Herrity's proposal or others like it will likely start to look more appealing the longer uncertainty about the rail project future lasts.
Currently, the region awaits the state's official response, planned for Feb. 1.