The cost of the rail extension to Dulles Airport will increase by as much as $6 million a month while the Federal Transit Administration weighs whether to approve the project, Virginia and Airports Authority officials said Monday. The price for the first half of the 23-mile rail project – now projected to be about $2.64 billion – will begin rising again Wednesday due to a provision in the design and construction contract with Bechtel Infrastructure and Washington Group International. Under a complex formula, the cost will increase each day until the FTA approves the project for final design.
“If this deadline is not met – and it appears unlikely that it will be – the effects on project costs could be significant,” a report last week from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General said.
