Federal Agencies Sued Over Metro Project
posted 5:11 pm Wed November 28, 2007 - Washington
The Federal Transit Administration and the U.S. Department of Transportation rejected plans that included a tunnel because they did not meet cost efficiency standards for federal funding. Aerial tracks were chosen instead.
The lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., seeks an injunction halting federal funding of the project until a competitive bidding process and a comprehensive tunnel review are conducted.
"We didn't want to go to court but our hand was forced by DOT and FTA reluctance to hear our side of the issue," said TysonsTunnel.org President Scott A. Monett. "I believe we have an excellent chance to win an injunction and to win our underlying case."
Officials with the two federal agencies could not be reached Tuesday evening for comment.
The lawsuit alleges that the contract for design and construction of the project was awarded to a consortium of Bechtel Corporation and Washington Group International without competitive bidding or negotiation.It also alleges that the DOT and the FTA did not adequately investigate the cost of constructing a tunnel, study alternatives or look at ways to make building a tunnel less expensive.
Project managers hope to begin construction on the proposed 23-mile line as soon as next year. The first phase, from Falls Church to Reston, is expected to be completed in 2012, and the second phase extending beyond the airport into Loudoun County could be done by 2015.
On the Net:
Tysons Tunnel.org: http://www.tysonstunnel.org/
Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project: http://www.dullesmetro.com/
Latest Comment on Federal Agencies Sued Over Metro Project
John61
2:41 pm on 11/29/07
I hope they are able to hold the project up perminately. Why do we need the rail anyway. As soon as it is built, the Fairfax County powers to be will be grabbing all of the land away for there builder friends and the place will look like DC. They plan to build high rises along Rte7 so we can add thousands more to an area that can't handle it. But then if you speak with Connolly or any of the other builder/supervisors they will tell you that all of those people will only take the Metro. Yeah, right. Then there is the problem of gangs and thugs coming from MD, DC and other parts of FFX County. And who is going to take care of the criminals, they aren't going to add more cops, so you get more people, more criminals, more crime, more traffic with the same amount of cops to protect us citizens. Let's think outside the box folks(or outside the metro train car). There is more involved with this than just a train ride. I SAY NO TO THE METRO SYSTEM!!!!!
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