A group dedicated to convincing state and federal officials to send Metrorail underneath Tysons Corner unveiled on Monday reams of tunnel-engineering plans they will drop on the doorsteps of dozens of public officials.
Tysonstunnel.org, a group created by the Greater McLean Chamber of Commerce, released what can be described as barrels of documents that map out how a tunnel could run under 3.4 miles of Fairfax County’s commercial hub.
Current plans call for a mostly elevated track through Tysons, part of the $4 billion, 23-mile Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project.
Tunnel proponents argue the underground rail will be more durable, less obtrusive and a catalyst for forging Tysons Corner into a pedestrian, urban environment such as Rosslyn or Ballston. The plan was almost universally favored.
But a panel of engineers last summer estimated the tunnel would cost $250 million more and take a year longer to build than an above-ground track. Months later, Federal Transit Administration officials warned Gov. Tim Kaine that building the structure would jeopardize $900 million in federal funding set aside for the Metrorail project. As a result, Kaine announced the death of the tunnel plan in September.
Scott Monett, president of Tysonstunnel.org, told reporters Monday the group is sending the tunnel-engineering plans to 51 public officials. It’s yet to be seen, however, whether key officials who have repeatedly said they intend to move forward with an above-ground track, including the governor, can be swayed.
“Once they see this information, it’s going to be difficult for them not to take it seriously,” Monett said.
He wants to see the entire Metrorail project put out to bid and the tunnel engineering considered alongside the aerial plans, a move he believes would draw down the costs of going underground.
The state and the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority are now in negotiations with two private firms to design and build the first phase of the track from just past the East Falls Church Metro station to Wiehle Avenue.
