Several Fairfax County supervisors have put forth a resolution backing the addition of Metro rail to the Woodrow Wilson bridge, a long-term project with tough funding road ahead of it.
The capacity to run rail lines was built into the new $2.4 billion Woodrow Wilson Bridge, which opened this summer to commuters.
Three board members — Chairman Gerald Connolly, Gerald Hyland and Dana Kauffman — have put their support behind connecting Metro’s Yellow Line in Virginia and Green Line in Maryland with a track running on the inner edge of both spans. The Woodrow Wilson bridge carries the Capital Beltway over the Potomac River.
There is no committed funding for the project at this point, according to Kauffman, who represents Fairfax County’s Lee District and serves as a Virginia representative on the Metro board. He recognized the plan as “nothing short-term” and said significant funds would need to come from Maryland, as well.
With numerous high-profile projects like the Dulles Metrorail extension sapping federal and state transportation funds, another rail improvement will have stiff competition. Still, Kauffman was optimistic.
“I don’t think it’s a question of if, it’s a question of when,” he said.
The FairfaxCounty Board of Supervisors considered backing the resolution of support for the rail-line on Monday, but deferred it to a meeting later in the month for further study.
A final decision on adding the rail would come from the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, said a spokeswoman for the bridge project.
