Not good news for Dulles Metro...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/26/AR2006072601500.html

Today, Virginia Transportation Secretary Pierce R. Homer is to receive the results of a two-month study of the tunnel question by a panel of independent engineers. Project sources say all indications have been that the panel, Homer and Kaine have been leaning in favor of a tunnel.

In their letter, Wolf and Davis noted that switching to a tunnel in Tysons just months before construction was to begin would require reviews that could delay the rail line by as much as two years. Under existing plans, rail was to reach Tysons by 2011 and Dulles by 2015.

A delay would mean putting at risk at least some of the $900 million the federal government is expected to provide, because that money might not be available in later years, Wolf and Davis wrote. It would mean making commuters wait longer for public transit in the Dulles corridor, and construction costs are rising.

"With a project of this magnitude, every day of delay translates into added costs," they wrote. "For the Northern Virginia commuter looking for traffic relief today, every day of delay also translates into a deteriorating quality of life."

The congressmen also emphasized that any increase in the project's cost will likely place it in violation of cost-effectiveness standards that federal transit officials use to evaluate projects. Even if tunnel supporters can find extra money from state or local sources, the federal government is likely to withdraw its $900 million if it deems the project's overall cost excessive. "The bottom line is this: Northern Virginia cannot afford to lose this project," Wolf and Davis wrote.

Tysons landowners and other supporters of a tunnel said the congressmen's concerns were understandable but overstated. They said that the necessary reviews for a tunnel could likely be done in six months at most and that a tunnel might cost no more, given the advantage of being able to work round-the-clock. The cost also could be lowered if the state decides to re-bid the contract now held by Bechtel Corp. and Washington Group International Inc., they said.

Even if a tunnel did cost more, its backers said there should be a way around the cost-effectiveness standards. It should count for something, they said, that the federal government is no longer being asked to help pay for the second half of the project. That phase is to be mostly covered by Dulles Toll Road revenue collected by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, the entity slated to assume control of the project later this year.

Fairfax Supervisor T. Dana Kauffman (D-Lee), a Metro board member and tunnel proponent, said that the congressmen were right to raise concerns but that the tunnel option is being considered this late only because the project's overseers failed to weigh all options years ago.

"I always welcome tough questions, but the state has been looking at tunneling because, for some reason, other tough questions weren't asked earlier," he said.

The state needs to take ownership of the Greedway and use those profits to pay for this build out to Ashburn. Use immenient domain!

 

Dulles will do everything possible to avoid people parking at the airport and riding the Metro into town.

There will be dedicated Metro parking at 606 and 772, the two stops in Loudoun- something like 5,000+ spaces b/t the two stations.

The document prepared by Metro for the feds estimates a transit trip from 606 to Metro Center would take 60 minutes. A trip from Rosslyn to Dulles Airport would take 43 minutes.

Compare this to their estimate of driving time- 606 to Metro Center is only 52 minutes- so it takes 8 minutes longer to ride Metro than to drive. And from Rosslyn to Dulles- 36 minutes driving time- 7 minutes (16%) faster than Metro.

Interesting.....

 

I believe that the second phase (to Ashburn) is being entirely funded by WMTA (as part of their purchase of the Dulles Toll Road). So, there's no further "appropriation" that needs to take place. Actually, this fact should speed up considerably the construction of Phase II.

 

The only people really paying for Metro is those of us that commute on the DTR. Not WMAA, not the state and not the land owners in the tysons area,etc.. that will have significantly higher valued properties once the Metro is in (even after their "investment")

 

Scary part is, it cost less to build the railroad than to operate the DTR according to your figures. 1.05 Billion in operating expenses. Maybe I should look into becoming a toll operator.