The following announcement is courtesy of our neighborhood’s PYMIG liaison, Steve Crime.
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Metro Station Public Hearing on July 16, 2019
Summary. We are nearing the end of the process to obtain approval for the location of the new Potomac Yard Metro Station. We are currently in the comment period on the environmental permit process with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VDEQ). The comment period closes on July 31, 2019. The VDEQ will hold a public hearing at the Durant Arts Center, 1605 Cameron St, Alexandria on July 16, 2019, at 7:00pm. The purpose of the public hearing is to solicit comments from City residents on a draft permit to allow the filling of wetlands for construction of the new Metro Station. Specifically, the permit seeks to authorize construction of the Metro Station at the Alternative B site approximately 500 feet north of our community. That location would permanently impact 1.56 acres of wetlands for the station itself and temporarily impact an additional 2.01 acres of wetlands during construction for staging materials and construction equipment. Those 2.01 acres would be restored after construction is complete.
I strongly urge ALL residents of Potomac Greens to provide comments to the VDEQ either in-person at the July 16, 2019 public hearing or in writing. Specific guidance on how to submit comments can be found here: https://www.alexandriava.gov/uploadedFiles/Potomac%20Yard%20Metrorail%20Station%20Draft%20Permit%20and%20Hearing%20Public%20Notice.pdf
Why Comments Are Critical. There is an environmental group in the City that opposes the Alternative B location because of its impact on the wetlands. They will be providing comments to the VDEQ in person and in writing. Should they be successful in their efforts to have the draft permit for the Alternative B site disapproved, one possible outcome is that the site selection process for the Metro Station may be reopened. Should that happen, financial constraints could force the selection of a site directly behind the homes at the north end of our community. It would look like this:
Background. During the selection process, the cost of Alternative B (one of four build alternatives) was estimated to be $268M. That estimate has substantially increased and our most recent estimate for a downsized station is $320M, a 19.4% increase.
Since the price estimates for the four alternatives developed in October 2014 were all prepared by the same people at the same time using the same factors for material and labor costs, I believe it would be reasonable to assume ALL the price estimates would be looking at a similar cost escalation. Using a 19.4% price escalation for the other alternatives and a similar amount of downsizing, those numbers would then look like this:
Initial Cost Escalated Cost
Alternative A $209 million $249 million (estimated)
Alternative B $268 million $320 million (actual)
Design Option B-CSX $351 million $419.1 million (estimated)
Alternative D $492 million $587.4 million (estimated)
If the site selection process is reopened, I believe that the increased costs of the B-CSX option would make it completely unaffordable. While the downsized Alternative B would be affordable, my greatest fear is that Alternative A is even more affordable AND only permanently affects 1/10th of an acre of wetlands as opposed to Alternative B which permanently affects 1.56 acres of wetlands. The negative impact on Alternative A on our community cannot be overstated. The 50-foot height of the mezzanines at each end of the station would actually overtop the homes along the WMATA tracks at the north end of our community.
No matter where you stand on the issue of the Metro Station’s location or even if you do not want a Metro Station, I believe we can all agree that Alternative A would be the worst possible outcome for Potomac Greens. Again, I STRONGLY urge you to attend the public hearing on July 16, 2019 or submit your comments to the VDEQ. At a minimum, in your comments you might mention that although Alternative A would have less impact on the wetlands, it would be farther away from the new Amazon Headquarters, Virginia Tech Campus, and the proposed commercial area, thus reducing ridership and increasing the number of cars on the road once Potomac Yard is fully developed.