'Flawed' Proposal May Be Last Chance

The majority of the supervisors see flaws in the proposal, but "they will probably vote overwhelmingly in favor of contributing $400 million to the $5.1 billion project's first phase. To do otherwise, they say, is to risk killing the entire project -- a 23-mile extension that state and local leaders have promoted for more than a decade as the region's greatest chance to relieve traffic congestion and keep Northern Virginia's economy chugging."

"But a 'no' vote, others say, would do more than give the state more time to study whether a tunnel is practical: It would doom the project -- not only the prospect of remaking Tysons, Reston and the rest of the Dulles corridor into a series of vibrant, urban hubs, but also the more fundamental, long-sought goal of connecting Washington with its busiest airport."

"Detailed planning for extending Metro's Orange Line to Dulles began 15 years ago. State transportation planners considered a tunnel, among other configurations, but discarded it as too expensive. The latest push for a tunnel gathered much of its steam only last fall after reports emerged that a new, cheaper tunnel-boring technology popular in Europe and Asia might work through Tysons."