Documents that show some of the inner workings of contract negotiations for the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project apparently will never see the light of day, according to provisions within a 2004 agreement the state tried, unsuccessfully, to redact.
The comprehensive agreement that guides the entire 23-mile rail extension to Dulles Airport is posted on the rail project’s Web site. Completely blocked out, however, is the section covering the “design-build work” for the first phase of the rail. The Examiner will nevertheless be able to access the information contained in the chapter.
Two firms, Bechtel and Washington Group International, are now in closely guarded negotiations with the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority to undertake the mammoth project, which would build a new track from West Falls Church to Wiehle Avenue.
Project officials planned to make the redacted section public once a contract to construct the new track was finalized, but after being contacted by The Examiner on Wednesday a spokeswoman said they would make it available before then.
Nevertheless, the presence of the blotted-out text demonstrates the state’s tendency toward secrecy on matters related to the rail negotiations.
It also shows that some details may never be known by the public. The chapter stipulates that Bechtel’s and Washington Group’s original price proposal, among other details, are “trade secrets” that should not be disclosed. Months after the contract is complete, documents containing those details are to be destroyed or returned to the contractor, according to the text.
The tight-lipped approach to the project is an outgrowth of the Public Private Transportation Act, the legal vehicle that allows the state and MWAA to conduct negotiations behind closed doors on Dulles rail. State officials argue the approach allows them to avoid cost overruns and expedite the rail’s completion. Critics have blasted the pending contract as “no-bid.”
“We just added reason 32 on the growing list of why this needs to be put out to bid,” Fairfax County Supervisor Dana Kauffman said of the information in the redacted chapter.
