Slowly Metro-ing On

The veritable tennis match that has been going on over the progress of the planned Metro extension through Tysons Corner all the way to Dulles Airport appears to be making some headway again. For the past few months, utility work has been progressing at a steady pace with intermittent road closures affecting the commute in the area. Having lived around the area most immediately affected, I can tell you that they are doing a decent job of keeping the area as trouble-free as they can when it comes to delays and diversions. Still, one hopes that this is finally a sign that the work will continue on.

There are some who are still upset that the path of the metro through Tysons will be above ground and while I do agree that it will definitely be a pain in the butt for those of us who live in and around the area to see bridges carrying Metrorail cars as we drive through Tysons Corner and the surrounding areas but is it really that big a deal? If one looks at the path the train is to take at this point, there is a brief underground passage that will take place as the train transitions from Route 123 onto Route 7 before making the turn to the Toll Road. You can already see work being done in this area to stage it for work to construct the eventual tunnel that will be in place. Now what some people have been arguing vehemently is that the tunnel is the only way to maintain the 'visual beauty' of the area or at least ensure that the urban landscape is not adversely affected.

Honestly, I think that's probably one of the last things that we need to be that concerned about at this point. The portion of the proposed Silver Line that will be making it's way from Vienna to Tysons and beyond is not going to be cutting through any neighborhoods. No one's backyard is going to become a trainyard or anything of that ilk. The areas that would be most directly affected are the businesses and malls directly along the path proposed for construction. Even now as utility work proceeds to move many of the power and communication lines underground, some businesses are being blocked off temporarily while digging and burying goes on. I don't think it will be a long-term problem so I don't think many of them are complaining. Talk to any of them and they'll mention the inconvenience of having roads to their businesses blocked but then they also acknowledge that these construction efforts are for the greater good.

The project is slowly making it's way to the last station. It's been many years in coming and while it's been a worthy fight to get the tunnel moved underground it's time for the objectors to move on from their perches and help garner support for the continuation of the work. Calling the current plan for the stations an eye-sore is a misnomer as I don't think Tysons is known for it's visual beauty or its landscape. Don't get me wrong; I think it's a great place to live otherwise I wouldn't have been there for the past few years but it's definitely not like any other neighborhood from the surrounding areas. Most of the area is dotted with shops, malls, and office complexes. Most of the residents live away from that area so its not like the area is going to be disturbed at all hours of the night by trains rumbling through.

They have been talking about this project for almost as long as people have been talking about going back to the moon and finally there is progress being made on at least one of these worthy efforts. I think it's time that people move forward with it and accept that these are the ways things are going to go for now. Route 7 already is a parking lot entering the area from either the Beltway or coming from the Leesburg direction in the morning and the reverse in the evenings. Route 123 backs up for miles at the same times. You can't enter or leave without sitting for at least sometime. Wouldn't it be enticing to see how quickly a train moves through the area? Wouldn't that be worth thinking about as an alternative to sitting in traffic and burning fuel? I think it would be.