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SURVEY REVEALS DEEP-ROOTED SUPPORT FOR A TYSONS TUNNEL
Eight in 10 voters in favor of a tunnel; incumbents risk voter rebuke in November

Tysons Corner, Va. (September 5, 2007)—A recent poll reveals widespread public support for a tunnel under Tysons Corner as part of the Metrorail extension project to Dulles International Airport.

The survey, commissioned by the John Foust for Supervisor campaign, for the first time fully reveals the depth of public opposition to an aerial railway through Fairfax County’s largest business center. Foust is running against incumbent Joan DuBois for the Dranesville District seat on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. The district encompasses McLean, Great Falls, Herndon as well as parts of Falls Church and Vienna—all communities that will be impacted most by the construction of the railway.

Conducted in early August, the survey shows that a majority of Dranesville District voters support tunneling under Tysons Corner. To better measure voter sentiment on this hot-button issue only those individuals who expect to vote in the November elections were questioned.

The results are eye-opening, especially for incumbent officeholders. More than eight in 10 voters (81 percent) believe that the Phase 1 extension to Reston should include a tunnel. Only 12 percent of voters believe an aerial approach is the right choice. More revealing is that nearly seven in 10 voters (69 percent) strongly support a tunnel while only 15 percent strongly support the construction of an aerial railway.

“These survey results definitively state the public’s position on the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project. I strongly believe that similar support for a tunnel exists in other districts in the county,” said TysonsTunnel.org President Scott A. Monett.

Support for a tunnel is bipartisan. Republicans support the tunnel to the tune of 81 percent while three-quarters (75 percent) of their Democratic neighbors back it, too. Conversely, support for elevated rail is relatively small with only one-quarter (24 percent) of Republicans and 29 percent of Democrats backing the aerial alternative.

A look at other subgroups shows further strong opposition to the elevated railway with only 20 percent of McLean residents, 23 percent of older voters and 30 percent of women supporting the selected construction mode for the project’s footprint in Tysons Corner.

“Since the aerial design was selected a year ago our elected representatives have been swimming upstream against public opinion,” Monett said. “These results indicate that voters are poised to vote against incumbents in the November elections who have not supported the tunnel approach. As a result the future of incumbents who supported or voted for an elevated railway may be in serious jeopardy.

“Tunnel supporters strongly believe that these survey results combined with the uncertain future facing the current project makes it a much easier decision for our elected representatives to modify the design-build plans to include a tunnel under Tysons Corner. The public overwhelmingly supports a tunnel and is greatly dissatisfied with the current project course. We continue to believe that this project should be competitively bid with a tunnel and elevated rail competing head-to-head. Clearly, that is what voters want and expect from the people they have elected to represent them.”

Momentum Analysis, a Democratic public opinion research firm based in Washington, D.C., conducted the poll. The survey of 402 voters has a margin of error of +/- 4.9 percent.

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 competitive bidding of the Metrorail extension to Dulles Airport and supporting construction of a tunnel under Tysons Corner.

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