The Observer Newspapers | Dulles Rail Project Approved

May 02, 2008

Dulles Rail Project Approved

By Leslie Perales

Observer Staff Writer

In January, the Federal Transit Administration nearly killed the rail to Dulles project, citing concerns about the project's cost, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority's ability to manage the project and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's ability to service the so-called Silver Line extension. Now four months later, the FTA has changed course and announced its decision to approve the project on Wednesday.

"This is a good step, there is more work to be done, but we feel like we've been dealt with in a very fair way," Gov. Timothy Kaine (D) said in a conference call Wednesday.

The FTA decided to allow the project to move forward because there were reductions in the project's costs and MWAA and WMATA have started to work together, showing their ability to coordinate operations of the line, FTA Administrator James Simpson said in a teleconference with reporters Wednesday afternoon.

Simpson said that in January, "There was no confirmation to over $210 million in cuts. They have now demonstrated that the cuts are real." Those cuts include reductions of $15 million in electrical needs and $20 million in changes to the design of the stations, he said. Also cut was $7 million for the provisions that were going to be made at Wolf Trap to include a future station there, he said.

"If they implement all these recommendations and are serious about it, then they'll be able to help keep costs where they should be," Simpson said.

Kaine said some of the cuts were projects for which alternative funding was identified. For example, he said, improvements to Route 7 originally were listed as part of the rail project, but those changes will now be funded through Virginia's construction program.

Simpson also said both MWAA and WMATA have implemented plans to move forward with the rail extension and they have hired more staff to ensure that nothing gets overlooked. So, he said, the FTA feels more comfortable knowing the groups will be in sync on the project.

Simpson said the FTA's concerns about whether WMATA can maintain Metro's current lines and the Silver Line remain, and it will assess the condition of the lines in the next six to nine months before a full funding agreement is reached. Wednesday's decision allows the project to keep moving; however it does not allocate the full $900 million in federal funding to finish the project. Simpson said an agreement to fully fund the project should happen in late 2008. Kaine said that until then utility work and improvements to roads in preparation for the Metro extension would continue.

Mark Looney, chairman of the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce's Board of Directors, said the announcement came as a relief to many local business owners and tenants. "It's a banner day for Fairfax County, for all of Northern Virginia and particularly the Dulles corridor," he said. "Once the pieces continue to fall into place I think it will have a substantial positive benefit on Reston in both the business and the residential community."

"This is such a needed project," said Patty Nicoson, president of the Dulles Corridor Rail Association. "The tremendous growth of the corridor and the amount of work that has been done both in the Tysons and Reston areas — and I understand Herndon is beginning to plan — to accommodate has been tremendous and all we need now is for the rail line to be extended."

Nicoson said the project is long overdue and though the federal government's decision is not an official sign off, "this is the necessary and promising first step."

Barbara Reese, deputy secretary of transportation for Virginia, said the current cost estimate for phase one, which brings Metro to Wiehle Avenue in Reston, is $2.58 billion and should be completed in late 2012 or early 2013. The 23-mile extension would bring Metro to Dulles International Airport through Reston, Herndon and Loudoun County.