The first phase of the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project would cost about $2.4 billion with a tunnel underneath Tysons Corner, according to a group advocating the below-ground rail.
And the costs, reached by three firms, could be drawn down by an additional $209 million if the rail extension is put out to competitive bidding, according to a summary of the estimate.
Tunnel proponents still hope the concept, which officially died last year, will be part of the 23-mile rail project. The estimate was released this week from Tysonstunnel.org, a conglomerate of local business groups rallying to resurrect the underground rail.
State officials now plan to build an elevated track through Tysons Corner. The decision came after the Federal Transit Administration warned Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine in September that a more expensive, time-consuming tunnel concept would jeopardize $900 million in federal funds for the Metro project.
The price figure by Tysonstunnel.org, however, differs from the conclusions of the American Society of Civil Engineers, who last summer concluded a tunnel was “feasible” but would swell the rail extension’s price tag by $250 million and delay the project a year. They estimated the first phase of the rail would cost $2.25 billion without a tunnel.
“This is pretty earth-shattering information,” Tysonstunnel.org president Scott Monett said of the new cost estimate. “What this proves is that it is not only the same price, but it isalso potentially less expensive.”
The FTA this month released a letter again warning about the tunnel, saying it would add new uncertainty to the rail project and could halt federal approval. On Tuesday, rail project spokeswoman Marcia McAllister said Virginia still plans to move forward with the aerial rail.