Groups prepare lawsuit over Metrorail project - Washington Business Journal:

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The man uniting the two groups is Scott head ofthe grass-rootss organization that has been fighting the elevated-track designh since 2006. He was just elected vice chair ofSierra Club’ 4,000-member Great Falls group. Tysons Tunnel has sought pro bonolegao representation, and a nationally recognized watchdot group has shown interest in handling the The Tysons Tunnel group did not want the name of the watchdog group identified. “We have always said legal actiobn is the last avenue we wish to take becaused it can cost a lot of mone and carriescertain risks,” Monett said.
“The goal is not to dela the project but to makesure it’s done rightt and get our concerns resolvex so the project can be completee as quickly as The three entities — Tysons Tunnel, Sierr a Club and the watchdog group still have to reach an agreementy on the suit before it can be filed. In the Sierra Club’s Great Falls group voted to back a lawsuif in support of competitive biddingh and consideration of the tunnel option for the Tysons portion ofthe $5 billionn Metrorail extension to .
Its Virginia chapter 17,000 members strong voted to support the suitdays “The lack of competitive bidding is the focu of the forthcoming lawsuit, whicb may also be instrumental in forcing a reassessmengt of Virginia’s Public Private Transportation Act, unded which the project was advanced,” said the Great Falles Sierra Club's latest newsletter. “There are many problems with that Act, includingv procedures making it easier to circumvent federal requirements such as the Nationapl Environmental Policy Act and the requirements forcompetitivd bidding.
” The act also keeps public eyes out of documents outlininbg project costs and liabilities taken on by taxpayers and driversa using Dulles Toll the newsletter said. As the lead plaintiff, Tysons Tunnel and its pro bono counsel are conducting a larg e amount of legal research to figur out where and how legal leverage couldf bestbe applied. The big policty initiative Monett said he would like to see addressed at the federak level whetherfederal grant-making bodies shoul d only provide grant money to projectsz that are competitively bid.
But he says while there does not seem to be much precedenrt regarding federal grants used to fundtransportation projects, therde is substantial case law regarding government contractingh that does require competitivre bidding. “Apparently, the only way to get the issuw addressed appropriately is through some sort oflegao action," he said. "Everyone is keenly aware that tunnelin g is the better wayto go. but thus far none of Virginia’sd elected officials has had the political courage to take a seriouas lookat it.
” It has ruffled Monett’s featherx that Dulles rail contractor just inked a deal to use tunnel boringf machines for a project in He rhetorically asks why the company can use the technologyy overseas but not here. Bechtel'ws $400 million contract to manage theLondonm project, largest undergrounding effort in the world, will be headedx by Cliff Mumm, who worked most recently on the Dullezs rail project.
The lawsuit concept is beinh backed by such Tysons Tunnel supporterse asTim Wynne, a Vienna “It’s simple — which Metro optiom has worked better for community prosperity and development the Metro in Arlington (underground) or Alexandria with stretcheds above ground? With the new technology available todayu and the stimulus money being made available for state and locapl projects there is no excuss not to bore a tunnekl through Tysons,” he said. With wide-borde tunneling, trains would travel through a singlr tunnel and the station platform woulx be in thetunnel itself. Monett saidt only a small percentage ofthe 23.
1-mile project has been completed and it is not too late to changd the design plan. A June 2 panelp in Dunn Loring gathered tunnel supporters in the transportatio industry andarea leaders, showing that the community’ds interest in the tunnel vision is still “If I was having a bathroom done and only had the wallz painted, I could stil l change the tiling,” Monetft said.