Group Files Suit Over Metro Extension

By Bill Turque

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Opponents of an elevated rail line through Tysons Corner have sued the U.S. Department of Transportation, contending that the agency violated federal law by failing to seriously consider the idea of placing the track underground.

The Tysons segment is part of the planned 23-mile Metrorail extension from Falls Church to Dulles International Airport, currently under review by the DOT to determine whether it qualifies for federal funding.

Tysons Tunnel Inc., a McLean-based group of Tysons property owners, civic groups and homeowner associations, filed the suit Monday in U.S. District Court in Alexandria. It was joined as a plaintiff by Ratner Cos., a firm at Route 7 and Spring Hill Road, adjacent to a portion of the proposed elevated line. Opponents of the elevated line have said that it will hinder the development of Tysons into a mature urban area. The suit said Ratner would suffer from “visual and aesthetic blight” and “negative land use development patterns” created by the above-ground tracks.

Tysons Tunnel and Ratner allege that DOT violated the National Environmental Policy Act by failing to carefully evaluate the proposal for a tunnel, especially in light of new “large bore” tunnel building technology. They say the new techniques, which feature machines that can build tunnels wide enough to accommodate two tracks, would have fewer adverse environmental impacts than an elevated line and would be cheaper to build.

They also charge that DOT violated its own procedures by failing to provide for competitive bidding in awarding the design and construction contract to Dulles Transit Partners.

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