needs to be built. Too much effort and time have been put into this project. I sincerely hope that they find a way to make it work out and to put in the tunnel if they can do so without losing funding. It would be a shame if this project died at the last minute.

To not do anything would cost more. And, if this project dies, given the time that it took to get to this point, there will be no Dulles metro for a very long time, if ever.

"This Project" does not include a tunnel. It is an El (elevated) through Tysons Corner. Smart Growth and mass transit experts such as the Coalition for Smarter Growth and Fairfax Supervisor and former WMATA Board Chair Dana Kauffman have stated unequivocally that it will be a disaster for efforts to make Tysons a less car-dependent and more walkable community.

"This Project" includes zero funding for rail to Dulles Airport.  That would be in a future potential phase II that has already been shot down by the Town of Herndon and the western landowners.  How extending the rail line to Herndon, Dulles and Loudoun County will be accomplished is currently undefined.

"This Project" should be subjected to competitive bidding. Maybe then it would be able to pass the FTA's cost-effectiveness standards.

"This Project" does not provide the comprehensive mass transit solution that the Tysons/Dulles corridor so desperately needs.  Yet it will sap Federal transit funds for the area for decades to come.

Hopefully Lowell is correct in his optimism that one of Virginia's elected officials will step up to the plate and arrange for a true mass transit solution for the Tysons/Dulles corridor and one "that isn't just a huge gift to "Big Dig" Bechtel."  But "This Project" is not that.

That Governor Kaine hasn't stepped up to the challenge of fixing the problem of an overly-expensive, stupidly-planned contract.  We shouldn't blame him for this problem, the contract was written and signed far before he was Governor (probably when Gilmore or Warner was in charge, I'm not sure of the exact date), but Gov. Kaine should have taken one look at the no-bid contract and noticed it wasn't right.

If it took a congressman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar) to realize that Northern Virginia got a crooked deal, I'm sortof ashamed in all of our elected officials: Moran, Davis, Wolf, Warner, and Webb.

It's funny that after last year's decision from Richmond that we would build an elevated rail, Tysons Tunnel immediately turned to Fairfax County to speak out, expecting it to fight the state, and all they were arguing about was federal funding, and look where we are now, it's the federal government, it's our congress that's starting to tackle the issue.

At least it sure seems that way.

Let's not forget our local officials as potential leaders in this fight.

Ok, I know, Gerry Connolly has been one of the leading "do something" advocates and was the leader in the Fairfax BOS vote for the aerial option, but there's always time to change.  I'm not going to hold my breath because I really don't know what's truly motivating Connolly's support of the "el" option.  Point is that he, should he so choose, could also mount an effective effort to do the project differently.

And Linda Symth, who did vote against the aerial option (and I assume really supports the tunnel), could and should step up.  Sure, one district supervisor seems small compared to Congressmen and Governors, but it's her district, it will effect her constituents, and she supports the other option.

I'm surprised by this remark:

"Apparently, the financials of the project are so awful that it could all go down in flames - and nobody wants that."

This leads to a pretty basic question: If the financials of the project really are so awful, then why should we pay for it?  Just because we like the concept of rail, does that mean that all cost-benefit analyses should be ignored?  That would be irresponsible.

This project should especially not retain Sacred Cow status because it's not really a transportation project, but a thinly-disguised real estate scheme designed to enrich Gerry Connolly's employers and contributors at the expense of County residents and commuters.

So why shouldn't the plug be pulled on this crooked boondoggle?  If it would reduce traffic I could see trying to stick it out - but all the studies show traffic will get worse with or without all the expense.  Let's put this huge sum of money where it will do greater good for larger numbers of people, especially lower-income folk who can't afford to live near Metro stations. 

I for one decline to be West Group's/Connolly's tool.

At the very least, let's cut the number of Tysons stops to one, and concentrate on inter-Tysons people movers/shuttles (all less costly and more efficient), which would let us preserve the goal of getting the line to the airport.

The tunnel argument is passe now.  Let's either kill this beast altogether, or cut the Tysons stations to one and come up with other creative solutions that will use outside the box thinking to solve the problems, include solutions for those who can't afford to live near Metro, and not play into the Connolly Crowd'$ hand$s. 

I agree that rail should not detour down Rts 7 & 123. Even with four stations on 123 & 7, the present plan leaves huge areas of Tysons beyond smart-growth distance from a station. So the present plan will have to be augmented with a good circulator system anyway. Keep the rail on the Dulles access Road and implement a truly comprehensive mass transit system within Tysons that would service the entire business district. Let the various candidate technologies for such a system (BRT, light rail, etc) duke it out in an open, competitive bidding situation.

For that matter, why not let the Tysons landowners use their special tax district money (the property tax surcharge they are now paying to subsidize rail) to implement such a circulator system? I would be irritated if I were a Tysons landowner whose property was nowhere near a proposed station and I was paying the same property tax premium as SAIC or Westgroup who had stations next to them. Using the tax district money in this manner is inherently more fair than the current arrangement.

Right now, it's all about Bechtel, big money, political interests and getting Metro to Dulles Airport at any cost.  Instead, why don't we proceed with this in a rational manner that enhances quality of life and maximizes benefits for everyone involved.  Or does that make too much sense?

the argument for taking rail through Tysons was creating a "seamless" system. Yet, rail will not serve over two-thirds of Tysons. The county officials and Tysons landowners recognize that there will need to be a robust bus system to get people to their employment centers (i.e.,Ganett/USA Today) because most employment will be over 1/4 mile from the station (nationally, and Arlington, recognized distance that people will walk to a station).

If rail is "necessary", then keep it on the Dulles Airport Access Road and it will be more "affordable". There HAS to be a circulator system in Tysons anyway (other than rail), which is widely agreed to be busses. Why pay for this twice?

BTW, isn't there a better way to spend over 5 billion dollars for a REGIONAL transportation solution? Everyone in Fairfax will be paying for this, not just those in Smyth's District.

The  biggest losers will be folks who have to use the Toll Road everyday.  If I lived west of Tysons Corner and had to use the Toll Road everyday, I would be livid.  While the fat cats count their money and use their SOV to drive to their big houses somewhere else, the rest of us poor fools are going to be stuck in traffic. 

I just don't get it.  I guess if Tyson Tunnel folks with their thousands of signatures could not make any difference to the way Connolly voted, then voices in the wilderness are also ignored.  Maybe these disgruntled folks will vote "some of the some ol chair/supevisors" out of office in Novemeber.