| Threat
to Dulles Causes Local Uproar |
By Rebecca Plevin
and Leslie Perales
Observer Staff Writers |
| The Federal Transit Administration's announcement that it
has serious concerns about funding the extension of Metro
Rail to Dulles Airport has caused uproar across the region,
with some local officials worried about the future of the
Silver Line. |
| The Metro project looks "pretty dead right now," said Eileen
Curtis, CEO of the Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce Friday
morning. "I do believe in miracles, being an optimist, but
it's going to take a real big one." |
| Curtis said the FTA's decision would have an "enormous"
impact on the region and its economy. She said the Dulles
region has experienced high levels of business and residential
growth and boasts high numbers of mass-transit users. She
said she was concerned about how the area would maintain its
economic viability "without providing the critical, now missing,
infrastructure." |
| Curtis sent an urgent e-mail to members of the chamber Wednesday
night and again Thursday and Friday, urging people to contact
the White House and other federal officials involved with
the project. |
| "I think it's devastating," said Hunter Mill Supervisor
Cathy Hudgins. She said Reston was built with the anticipation
that Metro would eventually extend there, and a bus system
was developed to integrate with the future Metro lines. |
| "The thought that we would be reversing that long-term plan
is pretty devastating," Hudgins said. "I say with hope that
that is not where we will be, but the signals from yesterday's
meeting were pretty harsh." |
| She said rail supporters' top priority now is conveying
their views to the FTA, stressing that the project has a large
impact on the region and is not just a local issue. "I think
the community needs to convey their views as everyday citizens,"
she also said. |
| The Silver Line would connect a major international airport
to the nation's capitol, pulling together major activity centers
and businesses that have developed over the years, Hudgins
said. Additionally, mass transit would help cut down on pollution
and have a positive impact on air quality, she said. |
| "I surely say that there has to be some hope because we
have not spent all these years working on this project to
have it turned down," Hudgins said. "There are some major
needs that the project satisfies." |
| Hudgins said she hopes rail organizers can delay a final
decision from the FTA by responding to the issues outlined
by James Simpson, administrator of the FTA, in a letter to
Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine (D). |
| "FTA recognizes that this corridor is in need of viable
public transportation options to relieve regional highway
congestion," Simpson wrote in the letter. "FTA also recognizes
that any large public infrastructure project will face challenges.
|
| "The Dulles Project, however, has encountered an extraordinary
large set of challenges including changes in mode and sponsorship,
a revised termination point, a dramatically escalating budget,
delays in the development of the public-private contract,
local dissention about the design of the project, and lawsuits." |
| Patricia Nicoson, chairman of the Reston Metrorail Access
Group and president of the Dulles Corridor Rail Association,
said Kaine plans to address the FTA's issues by Monday. "We
know this is a critically important project not only for Northern
Virginia and the commonwealth, but for the entire area," she
said. |
| Michael O'Reilly, former Herndon mayor and a board member
of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, said it
is premature to say the project is dead, but "the likelihood
of federal funding for phase one is much less than it has
ever been." |
| Wallace Owens, president of the board of directors for the
Committee for Dulles, agreed the project is not yet dead,
but "certainly it's wounded." He said he viewed
the FTA's concerns as an "11th hour dredging up of issues
that have already been addressed." |
| Jim Larsen, executive director of the Dulles Area Transportation
Association, declined to comment, but said DATA met Friday
afternoon to analyze and discuss the situation. |
| Dranesville district supervisor John Foust (D) said that
if the FTA rejects the current proposal, the community would
have the opportunity to come up with a stronger plan to bring
rail to Dulles. Foust said he would like to see a revised
plan that gives fair consideration to a tunnel through Tyson's
Corner, includes competitive bidding, and does not rely primarily
on Dulles Toll Road users for funding. |
| Foust said he is "absolutely certain we are going to get
rail to Dulles." He said the region can "do it right or do
it the way it is currently proposed." |
| Foust wrote a letter to the FTA last week asking for a "time
out" to study and address concerns about the rail project,
without losing its place in line for federal funding. |
| That letter, he said Friday, "did not have any effect on
the decision." He said the FTA's statement addressed an elevated
rail project with no competitive bidding, not a project with
an underground tunnel. |
