Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine sees “no reason” why the Dulles Rail project would be rejected by the Federal Transit Administration. Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley and District Mayor Adrian Fenty also want the project approved. Before the pols get too giddy, it’s worth reviewing eight reasons why this $5.4 billion boondoggle shouldn’t get one penny of federal tax dollars, much less $900 million:
» Fairfax County taxpayers never approved Dulles Rail; county officials unilaterally designated it as the “locallypreferred option.” Unlike many other smaller capital projects, Dulles Rail — which if approved would be the largest public works project in Virginia history — has never been submitted to a referendum.
» Both the project’s final environmental impact statement and Metropolitan Washington Council of Government’s traffic projections confirm that Dulles Rail would not ease traffic congestion in Northern Virginia. If anything, congestion would be worsened by the many new development projects around it. Unless more roads are built, most of the area’s major highways will be gridlocked by 2030 — with or without Dulles Rail.
» The proposed station at Washington Dulles International Airport, about 30 miles from downtown D.C., would be the least-used stop in the entire Metrorail system.
» The no-bid contract to build Dulles Rail was awarded to Dulles Transit Partners under Virginia’s Public/Private Transportation Act — even though no private funds are involved. Many of its key provisions, however, are being kept from the public.
» The contract ignores federal contracting regulations. A lawsuit challenging the lack of “full and open competition” required of both “state and non-state grantees” has been filed in Alexandria’s federal court. That should be resolved before a funding decision is made.
» Numerous nonstandard provisions of the contract greatly increase the risk of massive cost overruns. DTP’s escalating estimates have already raised the cost of Phase 1 from $1.8 billion three years ago to $2.6 billion today — and there’s no end in sight.
» Bechtel, one of DTP’s two partners, is negotiating with state and federal prosecutors in Massachusetts on a penalty that could run as high as $315 million for the company’s sorry performance on Boston’s $15 billion Big Dig. And no wonder, considering the tunnel’s 2006 ceiling collapse that killed a woman and the 237 new leaks that spark serious concerns aboutfuture maintenance costs.
» Virginia officials gave the Dulles Toll Road — which was built with state and federal tax dollars — to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority without prior approval from anybody. The result is that MWAA’s board can raise tolls and nobody can stop it because none of its members are elected.
No wonder federal officials reportedly are hesitant about approving the project. Good for them!
