D.C.’s Silver-Line Slog, CITY Journal, Autumn 2014

The following are excerpts from the lengthy subject article by Ethan Epstein:

A costly and long-delayed subway project raises questions about America’s ability to build needed infrastructure.

BRIAN GORDON GREEN/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CREATIVE.  Metro Washington’s burgeoning population has overwhelmed the public transportation system, making traffic unbearable.

 

A trip through Washington, D.C.’s Dulles International Airport offers a glimpse of what people in the past thought transportation would look like in the future. Opened in 1962, the airport boasts a quintessentially “mod” look, thanks to a stunning, Eero Saarinen–designed main terminal meant to evoke flight. But Dulles evokes the early 1960s in another way: its lack of a rail connection to the city it serves recalls a time when the automobile was king. Indeed, Dulles, the city’s primary international airport, is situated nearly 30 miles of congested highway away from the District of Columbia’s downtown core and linked to the city by only infrequent public buses. Chronic heavy traffic makes the ride painfully slow.

But change is coming. This past summer saw the opening of the first segment of a new Washington subway (dubbed Metro) rail line that eventually will connect Dulles to D.C.’s central business district. The new line’s first phase cost $2.9 billion to construct, and the most optimistic estimates put the final price tag for the project—decades in the making—as high as $5.6 billion. That’s nearly $1,000 for every man, woman, and child in the Washington metro area. The sluggishness of the process and its eye-popping cost raise troubling questions about America’s ability to construct vital infrastructure. . .

As a point of comparison for just how expensive the Silver Line will prove to be, consider the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, for which the Russian government was roundly mocked for its vast spending—some $51 billion on construction, nearly $10 billion more than China spent on its 2008 summer games. In particular, critics pointed to a 30.4-mile railroad/highway connecting the ski slopes to the town of Sochi, which alone cost $8.7 billion—about $286 million per mile. As one commentator noted, it would have been cheaper to pave the pathway with a centimeter-thick layer of beluga caviar.

But Washingtonians shouldn’t be quick to chortle. If the Silver Line meets its currently projected cost, it would cost $243 million per mile. And the Russian project included both road and rail, while ascending mountains. . .

Is there a saner approach to transportation infrastructure?  . . . .

 Click here for the full article.

Who pays how much for Bechtel's Silver Line construction failure?

Yesterday we were informed that MWAA's inspection of the construction of Phase 1 of the Silver Line, led by Bechtel Corporation, failed to meet expectations in seven of 12 categories.  Much ado--and no answers--was made about how much longer it will take to get the Silver Line operating.

An equally important--maybe more important--pair of questions has not even been asked, much less answered:

• How much will the needed repairs cost?

• Who will pay the cost of the repairs?

Given the scope and serious of some of the required repairs, it is possible to speculate that the needed repairs could add as much as $300 million (or 10 percent) to the cost of Phase 1.  That is exactly the amount the Virginia General Assembly approved in an added contribution to Silver Line construction last year.  In essence, Virginians' taxes may have spent to gain absolutely nothing.

The morally and ethically right way for the extra cost to be paid is for the inept builder to assume all the cost of the needed repairs after depletion of the already nearly bankrupt contract contingency fund.  If that cuts into Bechtel's profits or even leads to a loss on the project, it would be right and appropriate.

On the other hand, we're talking contracts which are completely unrelated to "doing the right thing."  If so, it probably means the Silver Line's "funding partners"--MWAA, Fairfax, & Loudoun counties PLUS the unrepresented Dulles Toll Road users who are being soaked with half the line's construction cost--will have to take on the burden.  That could mean all those political promises (if that's not an oxymoron) hyped last year that tolls would not have to go up again for a couple of years may be thrown out to fill the gap in financing Phase 1.

It also won't help Loudoun and especially Fairfax County finances either.  Fairfax County, in particular, is running close to its debt financing cap and the last thing it needs to do is divert the remaining balance from needed schools, transportation, and other projects to help finance Bechtel's failures.

So, what are the answers to these two critical questions?

Robert Clarke Brown's Letter to DOT Secretary LaHood, October 2, 2012

Robert Clarke Brown, who is leaving the MWAA Board this month, wrote an extensive letter to US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood criticizing his involvement with MWAA's effort to build the Silver Line.   He criticizes LaHood's interference with the independence of the MWAA Board by virtue of his encroachment on its authorities by appointing an Accountability Officer, involving himself in local governmental issues, and pursuing needless investigations.  He characterizes these activities as distracting from the core issue:  the "fundamentally flawed plan of finance."  He criticizes LaHood for failing to provide leadership and, along with Virginia, for failing to provide adequate funding for the construction project. 

MWAA Brown Letter to Secy LaHood 10-2-2012

Fairfax County Board Defers Metrorail Vote, Reston Patch, March 21, 2012

The board reached a decision after a two-hour public hearing.

By William Callahan

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors deferred until April 10 a vote on the county’s participation in Phase II of the Dulles Metrorail project after a public hearing Tuesday night.

Dulles Rail has been a contentious topic since its inception, and Tuesday night was no different. More than 20 county residents voiced their support for or opposition to the $2.7 billion project during the two-hour forum. Virginia Del. Barbara Comstock (R-McLean) and former county board chairman Kate Hanley were among the speakers, about half of whom supported the project. . .

. . . But many residents who live in the Dulles corridor are concerned about drastic toll increases to the Dulles Toll Road, disagreeing with current plans to have vehicle tolls shoulder more than 50 percent of the Phase II cost. According to a Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority (MWAA) report, a one-way trip could increase from $2.25 to $4.50 in a year, and to $6.75 by 2018. 

Terry Maynard of the Reston 2020 committee called the current funding format "grossly unfair," urging the board to put any decisions on hold until a better funding scheme can be found.

"To do otherwise is imprudent, impractical and unjust,” he said.

Tammi Petrine, also with Reston 2020, agreed.

"The use of wildly excessive Toll Road revenues to fund Metrorail construction is unjustified and risky," she said.

Springfield Supervisor Pat Herrity also had apprehensions about the Toll Road's burden. "My concern is, are we going to do more damage with the tolls even with the economic benefit of rail," he said. . . .

Click here for the rest of this article.  

MWAA Presentation on Silver Line Phase 2 Preliminary Engineering Costs, March 6, 2012

Commentary: Dulles Rail Phase II: A Common Sense Approach, Pat Herrity, Connection Newspapers, February 3, 2012

This spring the Fairfax and Loudoun County Board of Supervisors will be required to make a final decision to opt in or out of Phase II of the Dulles Rail project. Rail through Tysons past the airport and into Loudoun is the largest public works project in the history of the Commonwealth and it has significant financial implications to the counties, its residents and businesses, and especially to the users of the Dulles Toll Road. As the Dulles corridor and Tysons are the economic engines of the region and the Commonwealth the project also has telling implications on our future job growth.

Dulles Rail enjoys overwhelming support among residents of both counties for its perceived transportation benefits. What many fail to realize is that Phase II falls short as a transportation project. For example Federal Transportation Administration administrator Peter Rogoff clearly told the Board of Supervisors the project fails to meet even President Obama's liberalized cost benefit standards for new transit projects. This is why the federal government is not able to contribute to the cost of Phase II.

The project will only increase the transit ridership mode split in the corridor by approximately 3 percent-5 percent in 2025.

Because there are no express routes and over 14 stops, the trip from Dulles Airport to the Potomac River on a completed Silver Line is projected to take over one hour (average speed less than 25 MPH) — longer if they fail to figure out the current congestion at the Rosslyn crossing. There is no time advantage over the car or express bus.

According to the project's projections, the Dulles airport station will only generate about 10 percent of the traffic on the Silver line, the majority being airport employees, not travelers, and handle less than 15 percent of the airport's total traffic.

That said, the project has the potential to be a huge economic boom to the corridor and Fairfax County; at least it did until the cost went up along with the projected tolls on the Dulles Toll Road that will finance 75 percent of the project. The new projections of the tolls necessary to finance the debt have not been released. Even with federal TIFIA financing that pushes the first debt payments out 10 years, it is a good bet that the tolls will exceed $8 each way by 2020 excluding the Greenway. . . .

For the rest of this excellent overview of the need for a better financing plan for Metrorail, please click here.  

Dulles Rail Back on Track, Managers Say, Washington Examiner, February 2, 2012

By: Liz Essley | 02/02/12 8:10 PM
Examiner Staff Writer | Follow on Twitter @lizessley

The first phase of the Dulles Rail project, which was six months behind schedule last August, is now just 11 days late and on target to be completed next year, officials said.

That's because managers and contractors were able to accelerate work on some parts of the $2.8 billion project, said Pat Nowakowski, the project manager.

The Silver Line's massive concrete structures are rapidly advancing along Route 7 in Tysons Corner and beyond. The first phase of the line, which will extend from East Falls Church to Reston, is now expected to be completed by Aug. 15, 2013, and open for business in early 2014.

The Washington Examiner reported in October that contractors were 188 days behind schedule despite officials' public claims that the project was "on time and on budget."

Now, after months of negotiations, the contractors made up all but 11 of those days, and they are being counted as "weather days" -- days on which contractors couldn't help falling behind because of adverse weather conditions.

But the faster pace of the construction has a cost. . . .

 Click here for the rest of the story.  

Dulles Rail official slams contractors for delays, Washington Examiner, November 2, 2011

By: Liz Essley | 11/02/11 8:05 PM
Examiner Staff Writer

 

The airports authority in charge of building the Dulles Rail line is starting to grow impatient with contractors who have reported a 194-day delay in building the $2.8 billion first phase of the project. . . 

. . . (Dulles Committee Chairwoman Mame) Reiley said she thought Dulles Transit Partners, the contracting group building the rail line and led by Bechtel and URS, may be trying to avoid addressing schedule issues until after bidding on the contract for the second phase of the rail line. 

 But Reiley will fight that, she said.
"I feel strongly that if it's not resolved, they shouldn't have the opportunity to bid on phase two," she said

Reiley's comments are the first public acknowledgement of tension between MWAA and its contractors.

Pat Nowakowski, MWAA's manager for the project, denied that contractors were dragging out the project purposefully, saying both sides were working cooperatively. Contractors also denied there were problems. . . .

Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://washingtonexaminer.com/local/virginia/2011/11/dulles-rail-official-slams-contractors-delays#ixzz1ceFglE7a

Fairfax County outlines tax options for Tysons Corner road projects, Washington Post, May 8, 2010

By Kafia A. Hosh
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, May 8, 2010

A mix of financing options, including tax increases, are needed to pay for road upgrades as Tysons Corner transforms into a city, according to a Fairfax County report.

Although the future of Tysons is transit-oriented via Metro's Silver Line, county transportation officials say road improvements are essential to increasing mobility within the congested business district.

The report, released Thursday, says Tysons needs an estimated $646 million in transportation improvements to accommodate growth over the next 20 years. To pay for those upgrades, county officials have outlined a financing plan that calls for the public to fund 67.5 percent of the cost, and the private sector 32.5 percent....

Click here for the rest of the article.

Fairfax officials roll out tax options to pay for Tysons, Washington Examiner, May 7, 2010

Brian Hughes
Examiner Staff Writer

Fairfax County officials Thursday announced a mix of public and private funding options -- many of which involve raising taxes -- to pay for the road network for a redesigned Tysons Corner.

Planners had called it perhaps the most daunting in a series of hurdles that must be cleared before supervisors can sign off on plans next month.

Options include using an extra penny from property taxes, establishing a 4 percent meals tax or designating special tax districts. Officials say they also could turn to general obligation bonds, a commercial transportation tax or tax-increment financing to drum up cash. . . .

Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/Fairfax-officials-roll-out-tax-options-to-pay-for-Tysons-93028664.html#ixzz0nGUhRSAE