Kaine's Pick Is Said to Be Tunnel For Tysons

Davis reiterated his concerns yesterday. "I don't think there are any guarantees that the FTA will approve the project," he said. "I don't think they can make this thing bulletproof." The congressman said he is expecting a call from Kaine in the next couple of days to address his and Wolf's concerns.

"We'd rather have a tunnel," Davis said. "The question is, what additional risks are you undertaking by doing this at the last minute?"

In recent months, the tunnel advocacy of WestGroup and Kasprowicz has been pivotal, say those involved in the project.

WestGroup officials argue that building underground would enhance their urban-style redevelopment plans and would help transform the rest of Tysons. A tunnel would not permit added zoning density but would allow landowners to build closer to the line's route.

Last month, the company privately promoted a bid from a group of contractors who say they can build a tunnel, along with the rest of the line from West Falls Church through the Tysons area, for much less than the Bechtel team is proposing. In a July 24 letter to Kaine, WestGroup's president and chief executive, Gerald T. Halpin, said the rival proposal was "highly credible" and would "be resoundingly welcomed by the community, could be built without tearing Tysons to pieces in the process, and would be a superior result lasting generations." His letter included a list of estimated costs from the companies and a timeline that showed the project would be set back only about a year.

One week later, the engineering panel endorsed the tunnel, saying the rival bid helped persuade it that a tunnel would be affordable, even as critics said the proposal lacked detail and guarantees.

WestGroup and its president have donated heavily to local and state candidates -- more than $1 million in the past decade -- with Kaine receiving particularly strong support. Since 2004, the company has given about $175,000 to Kaine and state Democratic political action committees, most of it an "in-kind" contribution of office space, records show. Since 2001, Halpin has given $150,000 to Kaine and $75,000 to Democratic PACs.

Kaine has received tens of thousands more from another company Halpin founded, World Resources, and from other WestGroup executives. And World Resources, Halpin and WestGroup employees have in recent years given thousands to Fairfax Board of Supervisors Chairman Gerald E. Connolly (D), another key tunnel supporter.

WestGroup executive Mark C. Lowham said Kaine's decision on a tunnel should not be a reflection of his support from the company.

It "will stand on its own merits," he said. "We've attempted to make the case for the tunnel to the governor and . . . other political leaders because we believe it's in the best interests of the community."

Driving the push toward a tunnel within the administration has been Kasprowicz, a former board member of the Piedmont Environmental Council, a group that advocates growth near transit stations. The Loudoun resident sold Texel, a voice and data communications company he founded, in 1998. Since then, he has managed several properties he owns, including an office building near the planned rail line in Reston.

Records show he has contributed about $163,000 to Kaine since 2001. Nearly all of that, Kasprowicz said, was an in-kind contribution, flying Kaine across the state in his helicopter or in an airplane he has access to. He said his contributions have nothing to do with Kaine's move toward a tunnel. Kaine, he says, simply shares the same beliefs: that transportation decisions should be made with land-use impacts in mind, and vice versa.

Kaine spokesman Kevin Hall would not confirm that a decision has been made on a tunnel and said that neither WestGroup's nor Kasprowicz's past support was a factor in Kaine's thinking. "The contributions have absolutely no impact," he said. "What we are concerned about is the viability of a vibrant community and region and its critical infrastructure."

Other companies involved in the project are also prodigious donors, although not to Kaine. Bechtel has given about $350,000 to national parties in the past four years, and Washington Group International has given $4,000 to Connolly since the 2003 election.