Tunnel Devotees Protest With Signs, Shovels

More Than a Dozen Plead Their Case In the Rain on Route 7

Although local, state and federal authorities have already signed off on plans to build an elevated track for Metrorail through Tysons Corner, a small but devoted group yesterday demonstrated their hope that the long-awaited project might yet be built underground.

More than a dozen protesters with TysonsTunnel.org -- a well-funded group made up of local residents, business owners and landowners -- endured a steady, spitting rain to draw attention to what they say is far from a lost cause. Standing along Route 7 near Pike 7 Plaza during the noontime rush, they waved signs and carried shovels to advocate for a tunnel.

The group, which said it recently drew more than 200 supporters to a meeting designed to revive its efforts, says the elevated tracks will disrupt plans to turn Tysons from a car-dominated suburban destination into a dense, urban environment that aims to get people out of their vehicles and onto sidewalks and bike paths.

"The rest of the nation is looking at Tysons as an example of transit-oriented development done right or wrong, and if we do it wrong, we're going to regret it for 50 years," said Scott Monett, president of the group. He said the transition to an Obama administration bolstered their hopes because it is "a progressive, practical, environmentally oriented, transit-oriented government. We couldn't have a better situation."

Vocal opponents to the Dulles rail project remain. Some argue that it is too expensive and that its contract was negotiated without proper public bidding. Others believe that bus rapid transit would have been a more cost-effective way to bring mass transit to the airport or fear that all the high-density development will further clog Tysons with traffic.

Few officials, however, still believe that a tunnel is feasible or even worthwhile. They say the $5.2 billion, 23-mile extension to Dulles International Airport is vital to easing traffic congestion and spurring economic growth in Northern Virginia. The tunnel would have been costly, and insisting on it would have jeopardized a $900 million contribution from the federal government needed for the project to move forward.

This month, the Federal Transit Administration approved the Dulles Rail project, virtually ensuring that the $900 million will come through. Much of the design work has been completed, crews have already begun the utility work on the project and officials hope that construction can begin as early as next spring. The Tysons stations are scheduled to open in 2013.

Redesigning the project to go underground would require several years worth of revisions and could threaten the entire project, said state Del. Kenneth R. Plum (D-Fairfax), founder of the Dulles Corridor Rail Association, which has been advocating for rail for more than a decade.

"I give these guys credit for persevering, but it's a closed topic," he said. "I'm not sure what their goal would be at this point."

TysonsTunnel.org members and others say the elevated track will further hinder efforts to make Tysons walkable. The community is already sliced through with major, multilane roadways, and the aerial rail line will create more barriers that limit foot traffic, they say.

Some group members said yesterday that they were still in favor of rail despite the plan to build the tracks overhead, while others said that they would prefer no rail at all to a set of soaring tracks crisscrossing the area. Billy Thompson, 57, a former Tysons business owner and a current Vienna resident, said he was conflicted.

"I know how important it is for us to have the rail," said Thompson, getting drenched by rain as lunchtime traffic inched by on Route 7. "Originally, I was part of the camp that felt that 'if it's not underground I don't want it at all.' It's hard for me to say that I entirely still agree with that."