Virginia state and local officials are refusing to pay the extra costs associated with construction of the Dulles Rail project because of a disagreement over where to build the Metro train station at Washington Dulles International Airport. The organization responsible for building the multibillion-dollar project, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, voted last week to build the station underground, closer to the terminal, for a price tag $300 million more than that of an aboveground station with a slightly longer walk.

The airports authority defied the state and local officials who have to pay for much of the project, including the station — the state Department of Transportation and Fairfax and Loudoun counties. Now, the three have banded together to muscle the authority into reconsidering.