Good for TysonsTunnel.org, I just hope that the public supports them in their efforts. We need to do this multi-billion-dollar project right or we'll be suffering the consequences of doing it wrong for decades to come. Let's not make that mistake, especially when there's NO NEED to make that mistake.
TYSONSTUNNEL IS EXPLORING LEGAL OPTIONS TO ENSURE COMPETITIVE BIDDING FOR DULLES METRORAIL PROJECT
Group Applauds Federal Government for Awarding $900 Million to Make Metro Rail to Dulles Airport a Reality
Tysons Corner, Va. (March 10, 2009)-Leaders of TysonsTunnel, Inc. today commended the federal government for awarding $900 million for phase one of the 23-mile extension of the Metrorail system through Tysons Corner and onto Dulles International Airport, but also said that the group will continue the fight for a tunnel.
Scott A. Monett, the organization's president, said: "TysonsTunnel and its hundreds of thousands of grassroots supporters always have supported rail to Dulles International Airport and are happy to see that this day has finally arrived. It is a tremendous opportunity for Northern Virginia and its citizens who live and work in or commute through the Dulles Corridor. But we must build the Silver line the right way if we are to seize the full potential of this opportunity."
Monett renewed his call for federal and state leaders to require competitive bidding and a tunnel under the busy business and shopping district that encompasses Tysons Corner. TysonsTunnel is examining possible avenues for legal challenges to compel the project to be competitively bid by state officials, he said.
At today's signing of the formal agreement U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said: 'This much-awaited project comes at a pivotal point as the Obama Administration begins to make vast improvements to our nation's top transit systems.and help Tysons Corner become a more livable community."
"We implore Secretary LaHood to live by his own words and make Tysons Corner a walk-able downtown and a magnet for new businesses and residents. The only way to accomplish that desired outcome is to build a tunnel under Tysons Corner," explained Monett.
Monett also stated that TysonsTunnel leaders are exploring legal options to compel the U.S. Transportation Department and the federal government to justify how a sole-source contract using U.S. taxpayer money was awarded to a multi-national corporation without competition. "Every farmer in Iowa, trucker in Ohio, teacher in California and factory worker in Illinois are contributing their tax dollars to enriching contractors who hijacked and corrupted this process," asserted Monett.
"We do not want to derail this project, but we will do everything within our power to ensure competitive bidding for the first phase. TysonsTunnel and its supporters believe an elevated railway would be an unacceptable monstrosity that would ruin the image and limit the potential of Tysons Corner and surrounding areas of Northern Virginia for generations to come."
"The Obama Administration has made it clear that jobs and transit are an important part of restoring the nation's economy. However, this step should not be taken at the expense of the public it is meant to serve without the appropriate oversight and regulation of these mega-projects. The public will not be given the best value or the environmentally sound project we deserve. No project highlights this lack of transparency more than this $5.1 billion abuse of the public trust," concluded Monett.
TysonsTunnel.org represents an unprecedented coalition of community associations, small businesses, environmental groups, landowners, civic groups, homeowner associations, major corporations and private citizens calling for construction of a tunnel under Tysons Corner.
