“In a perfect world, we could design it to everyone’s satisfaction,” Connolly said. “But we don’t live in that world.” –Chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, Gerry Connolly

Connolly’s quote was in response to the reported costs of the Tysons rail plan having been trimmed by 25% (see Wash. Post). As now proposed the subway will run on aerial tracks for three miles rising to as high as 45 feet through Tysons Corner. The supports for the elevated tracks are placed roughly every 100 feet and have been downgraded to simpler more commonly used piers, instead of the ones originally conceived that had “an architectural identity.”

So Connolly and the supporters of this boondoggle of a project are all elated that the estimated cost have been trimmed down from $2.4 billion to $1.8 billion–still some $300 million higher than the project’s original $1.5 billion budgeted price tag. They are confident that the additional funding required to complete the project won’t be hard to come by.

In Connolly’s imperfect world, this new price tag is as solid as a bowl of jello. Projects of this magnitude are usually plagued with significant cost overruns.

But Connolly is right about the fact that we do not live in a perfect world. You see in a perfect world sleazy politicians like Connolly who are on the payroll of developers would not be holding public office! (See “Who’s Watching Fairfax County’s Watchdogs?,” “Bad Company,” and “The Rail-to-Dulles Scam“.)