Though Virginia Governor Tim Kaine gave the proposal to tunnel Metro under Tysons a toe tag two months ago, a coalition of Northern Virginia businesses and residents remain determined to revive it. Even after a panel of experts endorsed the widely-favored tunnel, Kaine was forced to instruct transportation officials to move ahead with plans for overhead tracks, rather than risk almost $900 million, or a quarter of the project’s total budget, in federal support.
The group has set out to raise millions of dollars to prove that the tunnel is still the better option for Tysons, and though they acknowledge their long-shot odds, they remain encouraged by the level of public support. A member of the McLean Chamber of Commerce, which is spearheading the project among others, told the Examiner
“People are just coming out of the woodwork. They’re upset that no one is standing up for the tunnel, because it’s the right thing to do.”
The group is also working to tap into sentiments that NoVa Congressmen Tom Davis and Frank Wolf were reticent to stand up to the Federal Transit Administration and demand the money. Even though local governments offered to pay any cost increases associated with the tunnel, Wolf and Davis warned the Governor that all the same, selecting the tunnel option would endanger federal support for the entire project. According to the Post, the Congressmen “…increasingly made it known that Kaine should not count on them to secure federal support for an underground route.”
Of course, now that the Fairfax Board of Supervisors is pointing the finger, Wolf is backing away from the role he played in killing the tunnel, and blaming the Governor. Wolf told the Examiner
“Nobody forced the governor to make that decision.”
Whether this new effort can prove effective remains to be seen. However, we are far more interested in watching public officials form a circular firing squad of blame, while rich NoVa activists toss grenades in from the outside. Anyone able to make it out unscathed has our vote for governor in 2009!
Photo by AlbinoFlea
