Dense Development Sought Near Transit

The Board of Supervisors again resolved to tell Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) that it prefers a tunnel under Tysons Corner rather than an elevated track. (By Steve Helber -- Associated Press)

And, for the third time, the board stopped short of asking Kaine to halt the project and replace the elevated design with a tunnel. Instead, it voted unanimously to ask that Kaine impose an open and competitive bidding process that includes the option of a tunnel.

The state and the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which will oversee construction of the project, are in negotiations with Dulles Transit Partners, a consortium headed by Bechtel Corp., on a price for the first phase of the 23-mile extension. To qualify for $900 million in federal funding, the entire project must meet strict federal cost guidelines, currently estimated to have a cap of $2.5 billion. The rail project is estimated to cost $2.4 billion.

Negotiations were expected to be complete by the end of February. The delay has led to speculation that Bechtel's asking price is beyond the federal cost cap and that state officials are struggling to negotiate a lower price. Because the project is going forward under the provisions of the state's Public-Private Transportation Act, discussions about contract terms are allowed to remain secret.

Kevin Hall, a spokesman for Kaine, characterized the talks as "intense, complicated and lengthy," but said he expected them to be successfully concluded within the next 10 days to two weeks. Kaine has maintained that federal funds would be jeopardized if the tunnel option was seriously pursued.

Members of the county board, which is not directly involved in negotiations, said a lack of transparency in the process leads them to suspect that they are party to a "lose-lose" situation, in which the county will be stuck with a less-desirable rail option at an inflated cost.

The board also expressed concern about the airport authority's role. Because it cannot assume control until contract negotiations are completed, board members said, it is in the authority's interest to speed the process along. The board also questioned the authority's decision to use one of its own contractors, Carter-Burgess, to evaluate a tunnel proposal.

"At this point, what we are most concerned about is the process," said Supervisor Linda Q. Smyth (D-Providence), who co-sponsored the resolution with Chairman Gerald E. Connolly (D) and Supervisors T. Dana Kauffman (D-Lee) and Joan M. DuBois (R-Dranesville). "We don't want to write the check without the opportunity to look at the bill first."

Board members said they decided to again push Kaine on the tunnel issue after he said on a radio program that the rail project "is ultimately about the will of the people locally," and said if officials in Fairfax and Loudoun counties and the airports authority asked him to drop the aerial design, he would.

But the board stopped short of asking for that.