June 2006 ASCE Panel to Advise Virginia's Governor And Secretary of Transportation on Rail Tunnel for Northern Virginia

Following article was published in ASCE News

The independent review panel that Pierce R. Homer, Virginia's secretary of transportation, asked ASCE to select and head last month on behalf of Governor Tim Kaine has been working diligently to assess the vast array of issues associated with determining the likely cost of construction a 6.4 km tunnel through a highly developed area in northern Virginia known as Tysons corner. Replete with office complexes and retail establishments, the area may also see a significant amount of residential construction. The tunnel would form part of a 37 km project to extend the commuter rail service ("Metro") operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority westward from Vienna to Washington Dulles International Airport. The panel, which is chaired by Robert S. O'Neil, P.E., F.ASCE, and comprises experts from a variety of disciplines, will examine such issues as life-cycle costs; rights-of-way; noise and vibration; utility aspects; the effect on roadways and traffic; and the acquisition of permits.
"The panel's task over the next two months is to look at all of the data available on the different designs and different approaches to constructing a tunnel," explains Michael Goode, P.E., M.ASCE, who as director of grants and contracts for ASCE has been supporting the panel's effort. "The panel will not only evaluate first costs but also the life-cycle cost issues of these different alternatives as well as various risks and contingencies. It will also consider factors relating to the surface development objectives of Fairfax County."
One of the panel's most pressing responsibilities involves analyzing the cost-effectiveness factors deriving from regulations promulgated by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). These regulations include standards based largely on how much travel time a project is expected to save riders per dollar spent. At stake is the $900 million - almost a quarter of the project's estimated $4 billion cost - that the federal government is expected to contribute if the project's overall cost conforms to the standards.
In recent months the Commonwealth of Virginia has worked with the FTA, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, and local funding partners on various alignment and configurations for extending the rail line through Tysons Corner. The cost of this part of the extension is put at $2.1 billion - a figure that, according to some engineers, just barely meets the cost-effectiveness standards. "I don't know how a tunnel works within the formula." Roger Picard, the engineer leading the consortium of contractors hired for the project, told the Washington Post last Month. "Given the strict criteria, there's no way. The tunnel is a good solution if it's cost effective, but it's not."
While Metro officials in favor of the tunnel have said that a tunneling project would at most end up costing $200 million more than an elevated track, this additional amount is enough to jeopardize the federal cost-effectiveness rating related to the $900 million government contribution. "It's clear that the commonwealth and the governor would like to keep that funding." Goode adds. "The state doesn't want to have to find another source of funding - it's been a hard enough struggle finding a local match."
Although the locally preferred alternative that was advanced into preliminary engineering was an alignment through Tysons Corner that included a short tunnel bur for the most part was elevated. Fairfax County - a major funding partner - has asked the state to examine the cost of constructing the section of the alignment through Tysons Corner wholly underground. "Fair County is obviously an important constituency," notes Goode, "and its objection to an aerial structure seems partly related to a vision of transforming Tysons into a more pedestrian friendly, urban like region, which if feels would be better advanced with a tunnel." According to several Fairfax County leaders and many landowners in the Tysons Corner area, an underground route would also be considerably less disruptive for motorists during construction.
The review panel, which began its work in mid-May, will have 60 days in which to evaluate the proposals before it presents a summary on the tunnel alternative to Kaine and Homer. "We are pleased to announce this independent effort," said Homer in a press release on May 15. "It is critical that all the project partners have the best possible information to make this very important decision for the future of the region.
The Commonwealth of Virginia, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, the FTA, and other stakeholders will carefully examine the panel's methods of review and serve as a resource for additional data and information that the panel may need to provide its assessment. "Although they're observers, they're also holders of a vast amount of data on the history of the construction and the operation of tunnels and aerial structures and other important components that the panel will be dealing with," Good explains. "So not only will they be expecting the panel to address their concerns; they will also be aware of the quality of the data that they use to make certain conclusions."
The state's willingness to engage the panel and delay a final decision on the expansion project not only underscores the intensity of the debate surrounding the tunneling alternative but also accentuates the likely significance that the findings of the panel will have in the governor's final decision. "As a leading professional engineering organization with a strong commitment to protecting public health, safety, and welfare, ASCE is well qualified to provide this support to the Commonwealth of Virginia," Patrick J. Natale, P.E., F.ASCE, the Society's executive director, said recently. "We are honored to have been asked to play a leading role in this effort."
Mark Fitzgerald