Letter from Scott Monett, president of TysonsTunnel.org, appearing in the Editorial & Opinion section (page A4) of The Times - Fairfax County (McLean, Great Falls, Vienna) on November 30, 2006

Letter to the Editor: Scott Monett, president of TysonsTunnel.org

Our quality of life, economic future, public investment, and public trust are at stake.  TysonsTunnel.org supports metrorail to Dulles through Tysons, but we do not accept the  proposition that we should all settle for the least common denominator on these critical issues and just go along with the elevated rail as the path of least resistance. Those who would accept or applaud the least common denominator are either conveniently or purposefully overlooking critical facts:

• A qualified contractor team and the American Society of Civil Engineers said that the
  tunnel is technically sound and would be within 5% of the total Dulles metrorail
  projected cost.
• Engineering and environmental work on the tunnel can be completed in a timeframe allowing competitive bidding on the tunnel and elevated rail side-by-side this year — without significant time impact to the project. The Federal Transit Administration’s
  funding commitment is not expected until the fall of 2007 when construction would
  begin.
• The tunnel represents dramatically reduced environmental effects, economic costs, and construction risks compared to the major impacts of the elevated rail running through rather than under the congested roads and utilities of Tysons.
• One of the largest public projects in the history of the Commonwealth is about to be
  handed on a sole-source basis to Dulles Transit Partners, a consortium of Bechtel and Washington Group International, without a competitive bid on the final design and construction work – a deal worth billions.

It would be unconscionable for the Commonwealth, Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, or Fairfax County as a key funding partner to settle for a sole-source contract on a public project of this magnitude — even if it is independently reviewed. Common sense, best business practice, and public interest dictate competitive bidding as the only acceptable standard to assure that the lowest price is achieved, the best value is delivered, and acceptable ethical standards are met. In our own businesses and our own County, we expect competitive bidding on contracts worth only a few thousand dollars. Why shouldn’t we expect it when the contract is worth billions? More than 75% of the Dulles metrorail funding is coming from our region (the rest from federal funds), so we have every reason to expect our public officials to require the public transparency, accountability, and best price provided by a competitive bid.

While China and Europe are using the same tunneling technique proposed for Tysons to build key infrastructure investments for their future, we are being asked to accept an elevated structure common today only in poor developing countries. And, we are being asked to accept this elevated structure right through the heart of America’s 12th largest business district — the economic engine of our region — without the proof of cost savings competitive bidding would provide.

We should not accept this least common denominator. Instead, we should rely on an open,
competitive process, a hallmark of America’s success, to deliver the best project for the best
price to our community and to assure the best use of our public investment in this critical project.

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